Only
by Felix is Lucky
Summary: Only at Hogwarts would there be a rip in time. And only the next generation of Weasleys and Potters would find it. But they have no idea of the terrible consequences time travel can have...
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic, about the next-gen of course ;) I really wanted to do a time travel fic, so here it is! I hope you enjoy the "adventures" of the new Potters and Weasleys.**

Chapter 1 – Never Look Through a Time Hole

'Oh, I am going to miss this place,' Victoire sighed as she leant back against the beech tree by the lake at Hogwarts. For a minute, she just sat there and gazed over the grounds, before James decided to speak.

'Look, I know it's your last day and everything, but I'm sure there are compensations to leaving school,' he assured her with a small smirk.

'Like what?' she asked him.

'Like being able to see Teddy every day,' he replied with a small laugh. Victoire responded by trying to whack him round the head with her wand, but he ducked out of the way.

'Would you two please stop fighting?' Rose demanded. 'I thought we all came out here to relax in the sunshine, not to watch you two fight.'

'Rose's right,' said Albus immediately. 'I bet you haven't even packed yet, have you, James?'

'Yes I have!' said James indignantly. 'I've been packed for weeks, I've been so looking forward to seeing my baby sister again…'

Albus gave a derisive snort, but all the other Weasleys completely ignored this exchange. It was too hot to do much else.

'Hello everyone!' called a voice from the entrance to the castle. It was Fred, accompanied by Dominique and Lucy.

'Hi Fred!' shouted James. 'How was detention on the last day?'

'I've had worse,' he shrugged in reply. 'Honestly, we weren't even responsible! Some teachers just immediately blame us!'

'Oh well, that's just the way life is,' Lucy sighed.

'Guess what we found, on the way back from detention?' Dominique added. It seemed that she had been bursting to say this since they'd left the castle.

'What? Two Hufflepuffs in a broom closet again?' Victoire suggested, and Fred and James cringed at the memory.

'No, nothing like that. Come on, we'll show you,' Dominique replied, and turned back towards the school. Reluctantly, the others followed her into the cool darkness of the Entrance Hall.

'We don't actually know what it is, but I did wonder if Rose or Al had come across it in a book,' Lucy was saying as they went down a corridor on the ground floor, near to the Hufflepuff common room. Finally, they stopped outside a corridor that only they knew about, one hidden behind a tapestry, and Lucy and Dominique pulled it open. In the middle of the corridor was an odd, glistening body that kept swirling about.

'What on earth - ?' Rose began, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

'Ah, so you don't know what it is either,' Fred sighed. 'Oh well. We should just explore it anyway.'

'No Fred!' exclaimed Molly. 'You don't know what it is! It could be dangerous!'

'There's only one way to find out, isn't there?' said James, and he walked towards the substance. Suddenly, he stopped, and stared down at the ground.

'What's wrong?' asked Molly.

James bent down, and then stood up a second later. He was holding a piece of parchment in his hands.

'That wasn't there earlier…' said Lucy. 'Does it have a name on it?'

'Yeah, it does,' said James. 'Megan Jones… September 21st… 1992!'

'1992?' Rose repeated. 'Wow, that's been here a long time!'

'It doesn't look old,' Albus pointed out, frowning.

Then, all of a sudden, a completely new voice reached their ears.

'_Megan, come on, or we'll be late for Potions!'_

'_I know, I know, it's just…I can't find my Potions homework. My bag was open, it must have fallen out somewhere… ah, and Snape's going to kill me! I'll have to back track… if I'm really late, tell him where I've gone, won't you? Thanks Susan.'_

The voices vanished, and they all looked each other, slightly horrified looks on their faces.

'1992? Snape? Susan? Megan?' said Rose, eyes narrowed.

'Could that really be the past?' whispered Victoire, looking slightly faint.

'I say we go through and find out,' said James, and Fred nodded.

'No! What if someone sees us?' Molly hissed.

'We won't be long,' Lucy assured her. 'We just want to have a look.'

'There's no harm in looking,' added Dominique.

They all looked at each other, and everyone except Molly nodded. Even Rose, who was almost as cautious as Molly, looked eager to explore.

James went through first, followed by Fred, Dominique, Lucy, Victoire, Albus, Rose and finally Molly. The inside of the glittering thing was like a warped vortex, but they weren't walking through it for very long. Soon, they emerged out the other side, in the same corridor they had just left. But it did feel different. It was slightly darker, and not as dusty.

'The past smells different,' said Lucy as she breathed in deeply.

All the others looked at her in bewilderment.

'Right, you've seen 1992, so let's go back to 2018, shall we?' Molly was begging by now.

Before any of the others could protest, the tapestry flung open, and three people stood framed in the entrance to the corridor. Albus's mouth fell open.

'Would you look at this, Fred, Lee,' said one of them.

'Indeed, George,' said another, nodding solemnly, though they all knew he wasn't being serious. 'Looks like we're not the only ones who are late to class.'

Fred turned to his cousins, and swore under his breath.

'You have got to be joking.'

**Please review and tell me what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the review, and thanks for all the alerts/favourites. **

Chapter 2 – Going Undercover

'What did you say?' asked a fourteen year old George Weasley, both ears still attached to his head. 'About joking?'

'Actually, who are they?' added his twin. 'I don't recognise them at all, and some of them are wearing Gryffindor uniforms...'

'Um, well, we're...' but James stopped there, completely at a loss for something to say for once.

'Late for class, just like you,' said Rose quickly.

'Early, technically,' Albus muttered, but only Rose heard him.

'Yes, anyway, late for class,' she continued. 'And you don't recognise because... we're transfer students.'

This last comment was met with a look of exasperation from many of the others, but Fred, George and Lee didn't notice. They saw the twins' eyes rake over the red hair of most of them, the freckles, everything.

'So you're not late for class?' asked Lee. 'You're new here, and don't know where everything is? Where are you supposed to go?'

Rose nodded. 'We're supposed to be going to... Dumbledore's office.'

The looks of exasperation had vanished. If anything, James and Fred looked impressed at the readiness of which Rose had come up with this lie.

'Oh, well, in that case, we'll take you,' said George brightly.

'Will you?' said James, the smile fading from his face.

'Yes,' replied Fred. 'It'll be a good excuse for why we're late for class, showing the transfer students around.'

And they turned and set off down the corridor, and the new arrivals had no choice but to follow. They walked up to the entrance hall, which was deserted due to it being lesson time, and up the marble staircase.

'What are your names, then?' Lee asked as they walked past the transfiguration classroom. 'Where do you come from?'

'My name is James Evans,' said James immediately. 'I used to go to the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, along with my brother, Al Evans.'

He gestured Albus, who had gone unnoticed by the twins and Lee up until that point. George's mouth opened.

'But... but you... you look like Harry!' he said.

Albus stopped dead, and turned to face George.

'No I don't,' he said immediately.

'Yes you do,' said Fred. 'You could be his twin brother or something!'

'Why doesn't everyone else introduce themselves?' said Victoire hurriedly. 'I'm Victoire Delacour, and this is my little sister Dominique.'

_'Little?' _Dominique repeated, and everyone laughed.

'I'm Rose Dagworth,' said Rose, deciding not to use her mother's maiden name. 'Those two right at the back of the group are Molly and Lucy Newbury, and the tall guy next to James is... Teddy Johnson.'

At this, both Victoire and Fred looked horrified. Fred was mouthing the word 'Teddy'.

'Well, all of you, welcome to Hogwarts, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, number one magic school in Britain, obviously, academic year 1992 -1993.'

It wasn't like they needed any more proof that they'd gone back in time, but this really cemented the fact. While most of them looked even more dejected, Rose suddenly gasped.

'What's wrong Rosie?' asked Lucy.

'The year... it's Harry's second year!'

'Are you a stalker or something?' said Fred. 'Yes, it's Harry's second year.'

They had finally reached Dumbledore's office. Lee turned round to the twins.

'Do either of you know the password?' he asked them, though it looked like he already knew the answer.

'Of course! Sherbet Lemon,' Fred said clearly to the statue, which sprung to the side. 'Up you go, you lot.'

'Aren't you coming with us?' said Lucy.

'No, I think we really do have to get to Care of Magical Creatures,' replied George. 'See you around, transfers!'

They left, and the time travellers ascended the moving staircase. They reached the brass knocker, and James knocked.

'Come in,' came the voice of Dumbledore, a man they had heard a lot about, but had never seen with their own eyes.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes widened as they swept over the people who had just entered his office.

'I'm afraid you must forgive an old man,' he said quietly.'But I thought I knew all my students. Could it be that my memory is getting poorer in my old age? Or is it that, perhaps, you aren't my students?'

With a small sigh, James flopped into the chair opposite Dumbledore's. This time, Dominique tried to explain.

'Well, I guess you're right,' she said. 'We are students at Hogwarts, but students from a time when... when you aren't there anymore.'

Dumbledore took this news quite well. 'Naturally, I can't expect to live forever. Please continue.'

'We're from 2018,' said Victoire. 'And we found something in one of the corridors. It was... odd. It shimmered, and was constantly flowing, like some free standing liquid. And we - stupidly - walked through it, and ended up in 1992.'

For a while, the headmaster merely looked at each of them in turn.

'I believe what you found was a Time-Hole,' he said at last. 'Very rare, and very dangerous. They are caused by no magic spells, but particles of two elements colliding that really shouldn't. Time-Holes are somewhat tempremental. They have a habit of changing which time period they end up in, and are quite prone to trapping whoever walks through them.'

They exchanged horrified glances.

'So, we can't get back?' said Molly.

'I must check the stability of the Time-Hole first,' replied Dumbledore. 'In the mean time, it would be best of you went "undercover" as students. You can, if you wish, inform your parents of your true identity, because I don't doubt that they'll keep your secret, but it might be better if you didn't tell them. After all,' here is eyes met Albus's. 'They're so young. The shock might kill them.'

Albus nodded.

'How do you know who are parents are?' said James. Dumbledore looked at him with a small smile.

'I guessed. And my guesses are, usually, correct. Just tell me your year and house, and then you can head off to the great hall. It's lunch after this lesson.'


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favourites for this story :)

Chapter 3 – Look a likes

The time travellers spent a tense half an hour sat at their respective tables in the Great Hall while waiting for lunch to begin. Albus was bitterly wishing that he hadn't inherited his father's DNA, while Rose was somewhat excited about seeing her twelve year old parents. That part was worrying though… _twelve year old parents. _The others were doing okay. Fred had decided that it hadn't been too much of a shock seeing his dead namesake, although that may have been because he hadn't had time to.

Because they had come from the end of a school year, they'd all been put into the year they would be in next September, so Victoire was now a member of the staff, as a trainee librarian. And she wasn't looking forward to it.

'I've heard about Madam Pince,' she muttered as they had entered the Great Hall. 'Apparently she was quite horrible.'

'Well, it could have been worse,' said James with a smirk. 'You could've been the trainee caretaker instead.'

Victoire scowled, but raised no further complaints.

Finally, the bell rang, and the sound of students talking and laughing grew steadily louder. James looked at the others and mouthed the words "show-time", just as the doors burst open and the first load of students came flooding in. Most of them didn't even notice the newcomers, instead focused on the mounds of food, but some of them did stop and stare curiously at them. Fred, George and Lee smiled and waved, and even sat down near to James and Fred. Molly was the only one of them to have been sorted into Ravenclaw, and she felt very out in the open. People in that house could focus all their attention on her, and ask her lots of difficult questions.

'Where did you say you were from?' one of the fifth year girls, Penelope Clearwater, had asked her.

'London,' Molly replied. 'I used to go to the,' she screwed her eyes in horror at what she was about to say. 'Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts.'

All the others were sat at the Gryffindor table. Albus and Rose kept looking round at the door, because Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't arrived yet. Many familiar faces had already shown up, including Neville, Draco Malfoy, Luna, and James and Albus's eleven year old mother, Ginny. She was all on her own, and looking very pale. She sat quite near to Fred and George, and when James finally noticed her, he almost dropped his fork. Almost.

'Hello Ginny!' said George. 'James, Teddy, this is Ginny Weasley, our younger sister. Ginny, these two are James Evans and Teddy Johnson. They've transferred here, along with all the other new faces.'

Ginny muttered something that sounded like 'Hello', before her eyes swept around the hall. She found Albus, the boy who looked like Harry, and James and Fred saw her eyes widen.

'Hogwarts… doesn't usually let in transfer students, does it?' she asked them.

'Of course it does,' replied Fred. 'We had some French kid in our year back in our second year, but he was only here for a couple of months… said the food didn't agree with him.'

'Ah, François,' George sighed, trying to look all wistful but grinning at the same time. 'Where are you now?'

This had taken the subject of the transfer students, thankfully. As Fred and George began lamenting about François, the doors opened, and Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed in.

'Ah, now I'm sure you recognise at least one of them!' said Fred as the trio sat a few seats down from a flustered looking Albus and a slightly excited Rose. 'The one and only Harry Potter and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, our brother!'

'Oh, hello,' Harry was saying. He had just noticed Albus and Rose. 'You must be new here?'

'Well of course they are,' Ron pointed out. 'Have you ever seen – hold on, you look like Harry!'

At this, Albus went bright red. 'No I don't,' he muttered. Rose glared at Ron, who seemed to crumple under her stare.

'Stop glaring at me!' he exclaimed.

'Oh, for goodness sake Ron, maybe you shouldn't go round commenting on a person's appearance before you've even asked their name!' Hermione snapped, and she turned to Albus and Rose. 'Sorry about him. His name's Ron Weasley and he's all right really. Who are you?'

'Al Evans and Rose Dagworth,' Rose replied. 'We're Gryffindor second years, same as you.'

'Did you say your name was Rose? I've always loved that name,' said Hermione. 'My name's Hermione Granger. And this is Harry Potter – Harry! Stop staring!'

She had just noticed that Harry was staring at Albus with a look of shock and awe.

'Are we related?' he asked him.

'No, of course not,' said Albus, hoping he sounded convincing. 'It's coincidence.'

Hermione, Rose noticed, didn't look convinced, but she was hardly surprised about that.

'What school did you used to go to?' said Hermione.

'The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts,' replied Albus. 'And now I'm going to eat,' he added shortly.

'What lesson have we got next? We're not getting our timetables until tomorrow morning,' said Rose as Albus began shovelling down food. Harry was still looking at him.

'We've got Potions,' replied Hermione, and Harry finally looked away from Albus. He and Ron groaned.

'I hate Snape so much,' sighed Harry.

'He saved your life last year,' Hermione reminded him.

Albus and Rose said nothing, but Albus wished he could.

xxxxxxxxxx

_Dear Tom,_

_Today was quite odd. Well, it started off normally. Harry looked at me again today. And I went bright red again. I really don't know why I act like that around him, and I do try and act myself, like you said I should. This morning we got a new seating plan in Charms, and now I sit next to Colin Creevey. He's new to the Wizarding world, carries a camera around, and is more obsessed about Harry than I am. Maybe I should tell him Harry spent the summer at my house, and see how he reacts._

_But then, at lunch, the odd thing happened. There were eight new people in the Great Hall, and they all knew each other. I think they might be related, and most of them are red headed, like me. They said they were transfer students, but why would they arrive in the middle of the day in the middle of September, and not at the start of the year? And one of them, a new second year, looks exactly like Harry, except he has no scar. It's slightly creepy and unsettling. The girl he was with is like a ginger Hermione. I don't suppose they're from a parallel universe? Ha ha, I was joking…_

_Ginny_

**Dear Ginny,**

**I won't say what I always say about Harry Potter, because I'm sure you already know what you should do, even if you don't – it will come in time, don't worry. This muggle-born, Colin Creevey – don't try and make him jealous. He is new to our world, and you might make him wary of it. Better to befriend him, maybe? **

**This thing you mentioned is very odd. A Harry look a like? What is his name? If you see anything unusual, let me know as soon as you can.**

**- Tom**


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again for all the reviews/alerts/favourites :)

Chapter 4 – Ginny's Diary

_Dear Tom,_

_The name of "Harry's twin", as some people are calling him, is Al Evans, though I think Al is short for something. He and the ginger Hermione, Rose, went around with Harry, Ron and Hermione for the rest of the afternoon, and they sat with them at dinner. And, in case you wondering, I don't fancy Al Evans. I mean, he looks exactly like Harry, so you think I would, but there's something about him that makes me feel really uncomfortable, and I've no idea why. One of the other new boys is Al's brother, and his name is James Evans. He and a boy called Teddy Johnson are already quite good friends with Fred and George. James does look a bit like Harry too, but his hair's a bit lighter, he doesn't wear glasses and his eyes are brown. I really shouldn't be noticing things like this, should I?_

_I'll tell you what I did notice though. Something odd in one of the corridors the twins told me about. I went to explore it, and there was something there. It was glistening and constantly moving, but I didn't go any nearer. I didn't think I should. Do you know what it was?_

_Ginny_

**Dear Ginny,**

**I think I can put two and two together. This thing you found is a Time Hole, a very rare and dangerous thing. It could be disastrous for you to go near it yet, but you should eventually. I want to know what the future looks like – or what the past looked like, I don't know where you'll end up.**

**But this proves that these newcomers are from the future, and that Al and James Evans are Harry Potter's children. This "ginger Hermione"… I don't know who Hermione is, but Rose will be her daughter. **

**I'll let you know when I want you to venture through the Time-Hole.**

**Tom**

The next day most people took no more notice of the eight new students than they took notice of the other students, but Ginny was even more interested than she had been yesterday. She wanted to know who Al and James's parents were. They looked so similar to Harry, that she wondered if they had a mother at all.

Meanwhile, James and Fred were adjusting very well to their new situation.

'I like 1992,' said James as they walked off to Divination. 'The weather's nicer.'

'I think that's your imagination,' said Fred, before lowering his voice and adding: 'But, remember, isn't this the year that the Chamber of Secrets opened? Your parents mentioned it once.'

'Yeah, dad did, but then mum got all panicky and he's never mentioned it again. It sort of slipped out the first time,' James replied.

'Our parents looked so weird when they were twelve,' sighed Fred.

'Nah, they just look younger, that's all. Obviously.'

xxxxxxxxxxxx

'So, tell us more about yourselves,' Ron said as the second years headed to Herbology. 'Do you have any siblings? Who are your parents?'

'I have a younger brother, Hugo,' Rose replied. 'And my parents are Viktor and Astoria Dagworth.'

'James is my older brother, obviously,' added Albus. 'But I also have a little sister. Her name's... Lily...'

He trailed off, and looked at Rose in slightly horrified way.

'Don't worry about it, I just said my mum was called _Astoria_, for God's sake,' she whispered. 'Scorpius would kill me.'

'Yes, he would,' Albus muttered. 'I'd be very worried if you two were related.'

Before Rose could do more than look horrified herself, they became aware of their surroundings again. Harry, Ron and Hermione were looking at them curiously.

'You have a brother called James and a sister called Lily?' Hermione asked Albus, eyes narrowed. Harry was staring at Albus in shock yet again.

'What are your parents called?' Harry added.

'Remus and Nymphadora,' he replied quickly, and they said no more on the subject.

Herbology was the same as it had always been for Albus and Rose, except for the fact that Neville was a student, not a teacher. It was odd, seeing him listening to a lesson, rather than teaching it. It was also odd that Hannah was oppsoite him, but he wasn't paying her the slightest bit of attention, except to ask her very politely to pass him a trowel.

'It's a shame we're not doing mandrakes anymore, they were quite interesting,' Hermione said as they left the lesson an hour later.

'And useful,' Rose added. Hermione nodded in agreement, while Ron, Harry and Albus stared at them as though unsure which one was which.

'Oh, that reminds me,' said Hermione. 'Can I talk to you for a minute, Rose? I want to check the notes from History of Magic this morning.'

Rose nodded, and the two girls went ahead up the stone steps.

'What about Potions? You don't want to be late for Snape!' Ron called, but they'd already disappeared.

Potions yesterday had been an even more odd experience than Herbology. Draco Malfoy was making terrible remarks about Harry, and Snape was worse. If Albus didn't know the reasons behind his father's choice of names, he would find it hard to believe he had the middle name 'Severus'.

Today wasn't much different. Hermione and Rose just made it into the lesson before Snape could shut the door.

'What did you two really talk about?' Albus hissed at Rose as Snape swept to the front of the classroom.

'I'll tell you later,' Rose whispered in reply.

Snape started the lesson by returning the essays the second years had handed in before Albus and Rose had arrived.

'Ah, Potter,' he said as he approached their desk. 'Poor quality again, I'm afraid.'

The Slytherins laughed, and Snape's eyes met Albus's, while Albus became very aware that he had inherited his grandmother's eyes. Did Snape know? Had Dumbledore told all the staff who the newcomers really were? Albus had told Dumbledore what his full name was. When he had said his middle name, Dumbledore had smiled. When James had said what his middle name was, Dumbledore looked a little alarmed.

_'How did Harry find out Sirius was his godfather? Why would he name his son after a murderer?'_

And James had explained everything about Sirius, and afterwards Dumbledore looked much more reassured.

'Evans! Pay attention!'

Snape's voice drew Albus back to his surroundings, and he tried to look like he'd been concentrating.

'Would you and Miss Dagworth please see me after the lesson.'

'Me?' Rose shrieked. 'Why me?'

'Neither of you have been paying attention,' said Snape shortly.

Draco Malfoy was laughing even harder.

Snape spoke to them when everyone else was gone, at the end of the lesson.

'Professor Snape,' Rose said immediately. 'I was paying attention, I swear - '

'Enough,' Snape snapped. 'I only called you here to pass on a message. Professor Dumbledore would like to see you and your friends in his office tonight, at eight. And yes, Potter, I do know about where - or when - you come from.'

'And about my full name?' Albus added. He had to ask.

Snape nodded, but said nothing about it. They took this as their signal to go.

'So what did you and Hermione talk about?' Albus asked Rose as they hurried away from the dungeons.

'Mum was suspicious about the names of James and Lily, and the fact that most of us are red headed, and the fact that I'm similar to her and my name is Rose, a name she's always liked,' Rose muttered. 'So I told her the truth. Dumbledore said we could, and she took it pretty well. Although I didn't tell her who my dad was, and I told her to guess,' Rose added with a smirk. 'And I told her not to mention it to anyone, though I think she would have done that anyway.'

'I'm not going to tell Harry or - '

'Al Evans?'

It was Ginny. She was looking quite scared, and took a nervous step forwards.

'Yes? You're Ginny Weasley, aren't you?'

Ginny nodded, then swallowed hard.

'Can I talk to you for a second? In private?' she asked him. 'It won't take long.'


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks again for all the reviews/favourites/alerts :) More time travel in this chapter…

Chapter Five – A Different James

'Sure, I can talk with you,' Albus told Ginny with a small smile. 'I'll meet you in the Great Hall,' he added to Rose. 'Just go on ahead.'

He followed Ginny into a nearby, empty classroom. As soon as he was in, Ginny shut the door, and the look on her face was so serious he honestly thought he was about to be told off. Indeed, he had seen a similar look on her face in the future, but mostly when she was yelling at James. She took a step closer to him, and he automatically took a step back.

'What did you want to talk about?' he asked after a brief silence.

'You,' she said simply. 'James. Rose, Fred, Dominque... all of you "transfer students". I think I know who you really are. You're from the - the future. And you and James are Harry's children.'

There was yet another silence while Albus gaped at Ginny. He tried, and failed, to think of something on the spot, a quick cover story. But he couldn't.

'How... how did you figure it out?' he said quietly.

Ginny went bright red, and looked thoroughly ashamed of herself. 'I have my sources,' she mumbled.

'I can't imagine Dumbledore told you,' said Albus, a slightly snappish tone to his voice that he didn't mean to come out. He wondered, briefly, if Hermione had told Ginny, but quickly ruled this out; Rose had only just told her, and in any case Hermione what never mention it if Rose had asked her not to.

'He didn't,' said Ginny. 'I have a... friend. A very observant, intelligent, quick thinking friend. He can put two and two together easily, and, you know what, he's probably more intelligent than even Dumbledore!'

She went even redder at this, and said no more. Albus's brain had gone into overdrive. No one, he had thought was more intelligent than Dumbledore, yet how did she know the truth? Did his parents ever mention Ginny's first and Harry's second year at Hogwarts? People were attacked, a chamber was opened, and it was all because of Voldemort, but he was acting through another... was he acting through Ginny?

'That sounds a lot like Tom Riddle,' he told her. 'And, if you are - though it hardly seems likely - in contact with him, then you should stop contacting him at once. He's dangerous.'

'He's the only one who understands me!' said Ginny hotly, and any trace of red on her face vanished. 'And how do you know about Tom anyway?'

Albus made his way to the door, and placed his hand on the handle. He turned to face Ginny.

'Well, I've told you who we really are, but you mustn't tell anyone, ok? Not even Tom Riddle,' he said shortly. 'Please, stop talking to him. And, where I come from, everyone knows who Tom Riddle is. He's a monster.'

'Wait!' she exclaimed as he opened the door. 'I promise I won't tell anybody your secret. But I have to know - who's your mother?'

He thought for a moment, as though deciding how best to word his answer.

'I'm not really like her at all, for a start,' he replied. 'But next time you see James, take a good look at his eyes, and you'll get your answer, if you're smart enough.'

And he left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'I really don't know how, but all of them disappeared on the last day. We've searched everywhere, and they are no where. They've vanished.'

'They can't have vanished!'

'Please, Mrs Potter, calm down. Sit back down, if you will.'

A much older Ginny, glaring at the headmaster of Hogwarts, grudgingly sat back down in her chair in the headmaster's office. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, Angelina, Audrey and Bill were all sat opposite Professor Haryn. Percy and Fleur were at work, it couldn't be avoided.

'They can vanish, and they have,' Haryn sighed. 'All of them. Hard to believe, I know, but that seems the only explanation I can offer. Run away, maybe. Were there any problems at home?'

'Oh, yes,' said Hermione, her voice dripping in sarcasm. 'Because five families who are all related are having serious problems at the exact same time.'

'You don't think they were kidnapped, do you?' Audrey suggested. 'Maybe there are still some Death Eaters about, and they want revenge... oh Molly! Lucy!'

'Don't say something like that Audrey!' Harry exclaimed. 'We've caught nearly all the Death Eaters, and as an Auror you know that. There must only be a few out there anymore, and they are in no position to kidnap our children in the middle of school in broad daylight!'

Professor Haryn cleared his throat, and all eyes fell on him once more. 'Well, we may not know why, but they have disappeared. That we can be sure of. Can you contact them in a - well, in an unorthodox way? Something different to owl post?'

They all shook their heads. Professor Haryn looked extremely grave.

'I will continue to search the castle and the grounds, along witht the rest of the staff, but there isn't much we can do. I'm sorry.'

'Thank you for giving us your time, Professor Haryn,' said Harry as he and the others stood up.

'Right, we better fetch Lily and the others,' Ginny added. 'Before they vanish as well.'

The others said nothing to this. Audrey, perhaps more so than the others, looked like she was about to cry. Both of her children had vanished into thin air, or so it seemed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lily, Hugo, Louis and Roxanne had gone exploring the castle that they were not yet enrolled at. Louis and Roxanne would be starting in September, and anxious though they were about their siblings, the four of them couldn't help but feel excited to be at Hogwarts.

'And that way is where the Hufflepuffs live, I think,' said Lily as they left the Great Hall. 'And the kitchens are down there too. James and Fred told me.'

'Cool! I am hungry, you know. And there's a good chance that I'll be in Hufflepuff, so we might as well go down there,' said Hugo eagerly.

They made their way down the corridor. All of a sudden, Roxanne stopped by a tapestry.

'What's up Roxy?' Louis asked her. 'Come on, we've almost reached the kitchens!'

'I thought I saw something glistening behind this tapestry,' Roxanne replied.

'Really? Where?'

Louis walked back towards his cousin, and saw the same thing she had.

'Lily!' he called. 'Hugo! Come back! Roxy's found something!'

Lily and Hugo came back, and Roxanne lifted up a corner of the tapestry, revealing a narrow corridor where the rip in time was still flowing and glistening. For a while, none of them said anything. Eventually, Lily walked closer to it.

'Lily!' Louis hissed. 'It might be dangerous!'

'I can hear voices from the other side though,' said Lily quietly. They all strained their ears.

'Are you going to try out for the team this year?'

'Yeah, I think I will. I'm not really a Quidditch person usually, but since Cedric Diggory's the captain...'

They heard two girls laughing, although they were alone in the corridor.

'Maybe we should get a closer look...' Lily suggested.

After much stalling, all four of them entered the time hole. The last of the group, Roxanne, stepped through, and the vortex inside the hole suddenly changed.

'Lily, I think we should try to get out!' Roxanne cried as the hole shook violently.

'All right!' Lily called back, and soon they had all fallen on to the ground. They were back in the corridor.

'Do you think it's still... where we're supposed to be?' Hugo muttered.

'There's only one way to find out,' Lily breathed as she pulled open the tapestry.

The corridor outside was swarming with students, most of them Hufflepuffs. All four of them were suddenly very aware that they stood out an awful lot.

'This really isn't right,' Hugo sighed. 'Let's go back - '

'So go on then James, point her out to us.'

All four of them froze as a very different group of four came round the corridor.

'I - I can't,' said the boy called James. Lily's mouth fell open. Standing there, as solid and alive as she was, was her grandfather James Potter. But this James was bright red, and she had never imagined that her grandfather could get embarrased, based on the stories about him. The boy next to him, Sirius Black was grinning, as was to be expected.

'And why is that, James?'


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! Thanks again for all the reviews/favourites/alerts, I'm glad you all like this story :)

Chapter 6 – Marauders in the Mix

'Come on James, you can tell us,' Sirius said after a brief moment of silence.

'Yes, come on James, tell us, tell us,' piped up Peter Pettigrew.

'What was it he said at breakfast, Wormtail?' Sirius added, grinning wickedly at James.

'"I've been looking so ashamed recently because the girl I like is Hufflepuff,"' Peter said instantly.

'Which is obviously a lie,' said Sirius.

'And is insulting to Hufflepuffs,' said the only boy who had not yet spoken, Remus Lupin.

'Oh, he looks so much like Teddy,' Lily sighed. The others shot her confused looks, but said nothing.

'Well, then I'm sorry to all the Hufflepuffs,' James said, and all the Hufflepuffs in the vicinity glanced at him, clearly wondering why they were talking about them.

'So why are you really so "ashamed" about the girl you like?' Sirius asked him. 'You can tell us, we won't laugh.'

'Because... because... because I like Lily Evans,' James replied, loud enough for many people to hear. Two passing Hufflepuff girls actually giggled.

'That's not so bad,' Sirius said, grinning.

'Lots of people like her,' Remus added.

'I guess so, but still, I thought... we are always teasing her and her friends...'

'Yeah, but not in a major way. You stand a really good chance of going out with her,' Sirius assured him.

'I have to agree with you there,' said James, and he suddenly looked all confident again, like the James the time travellers were used to hearing about. 'Let's go find her now, since the next Hogsmeade date is next weekend...'

The four marauders disappeared. The four rime travellers looked at each other uneasily.

'I think we better go back,' said Roxanne.

'But the others might be here,' Lily pointed out.

'And I really want to see Lily's grandfather rejected for the first time of many,' added Louis.

'Yeah... wait... that was my grandfather!' exclaimed Lily. 'It hadn't really sunk in... oh, can we talk to him, please? I want to see him again...'

'No way Lily,' Roxanne hissed. 'If the others are here, we should go back and tell the adults. There must be a reason they haven't gone back through yet, but we still have time. Let's go back!'

'What do you think, Hugo?' said Lily suddenly. 'You haven't said what we ought to do yet. Louis and I want to stay, Roxy wants to go back; what do you think?'

Hugo looked positively alarmed about being asked his opinion. 'Oh, well, I think that... maybe Roxy and I could go back and tell the others, and you two could stay here? Then join us later... you can't stay here!'

'Ah, Hugo, diplomatic as always,' Louis sighed, smiling. 'Don't worry. We'll come back when we've seen Lily reject James, and when we've discovered whether the others are here or not. See you soon!'

And with that, Roxy and Hugo went back through, while Lily and Louis made their way through the crowd of Hufflepuffs, ignoring the fact that they were all staring due to the lack of uniform and the fact that Lily was far too young to be there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roxy and Hugo went back through the time-hole. Nothing seemed to warp or change that time, and they were soon out the other side. The corridor leading to the Hufflepuff common room was quiet, deserted.

'Do you think we're back in our time?' Hugo muttered.

'It looks like it,' Roxy replied, before swallowing hard. 'At least, I hope so. We'll soon find out.'

They went up the steps to the Entrance Hall, and what they saw made their hearts sink. It was night time, and all the torches were lit. Two Ravenclaw students were hurrying up the Marble Staircase, and there was a great deal of noise coming from the Great Hall.

'How different do you think this time period is?' Hugo whispered.

'How should I know? It could be days, months, or years ago - or forward. We might be in the future for all we know.'

Hugo gulped, but said nothing to this. At last, he said, rather tentatively, 'Should we - should we go in the Great Hall?'

'I don't know, Hugo,' Roxy sighed.

'Oh, that was funny Draco!'

Hugo and Roxy glanced at each other, and their hearts sank. They turned around in the direction of the voice, and they saw, coming up from the dungeons, Draco Malfoy, accompanied by various other Slytherins, some of whom were still laughing.

'Yes, yes, and the mudblood looked so confused, but of course she did, she wouldn't know the first thing about our world, would she? Top of the year? Granger? What a joke...'

The Slytherins all laughed again. Hugo narrowed his eyes at Malfoy.

'Roxy,' he muttered. 'He's talking about my mum.'

'I know, Hugo,' said Roxy. 'But try not to do anything! We can't interfere, and besides, neither of us have a wand yet. Come on, lets go into the Great Hall, and see if the others came to this time period...'

They followed the Slytherins, who hadn't noticed Hugo and Roxy, into the Great Hall, very aware of the fact they weren't wearing uniform. Most of the students were there, having dinner and talking merrily. They saw Victoire, sitting at the staff table, and they almost called out to her. She noticed them standing in the doorway, and dropped her knife and fork. Some other students and nearly all of the staff had noticed them. Dumbledore stood up, and the hall fell silent. Many heads turned to face them.

'Hugo! Roxanne!'

It was Rose. She had stood up too, and looked meaningfully at Dumbledore. Victoire stood up quietly and wandered over to the headmaster. She began whispering in his ear. He nodded, and she sat down again.

'H-hello,' said Hugo suddenly. 'I - I guess we're a bit late for the start of term...'

'You are indeed,' said Dumbledore. 'Please, both of you, take a seat at the Gryffindor table - '

'How do you know we'd be Gryffindors?' Hugo demanded.

'Well, I don't, but since most of you're family's there I thought it would be more settling for you, for the time being,' the headmaster replied. 'What you rather go to one of the other houses, where you know no one?'

'No sir,' Hugo mumbled, and he and Roxy took seats on either side of Rose.

'I think we should all carry on with dinner,' said Dumbledore, and he sat back down again. The chatter started up immediately, and Rose and the others convereged on Hugo and Roxy.

'How did you get here?' Rose hissed.

'We'll tell you later,' whispered Roxy, as many Gryffindors were trying to listen in.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in the 1970s, Lily and Louis were wandering aimlessly around the Entrance Hall, looking for a sign of Lily or the marauders.

'Lily, Lily - here comes - well, Lily,' said Louis suddenly, grabbing his cousin's arm.

Lily Evans was walking down the stairs, accompanied by a few friends, laughing and talking. The younger Lily's mouth fell open.

'Grandma...' she said, though very quietly.

'Not yet,' whispered Louis. 'Shall we go talk to her?'

'Wait for her to come closer,' she muttered.

And so they stood in the middle of the Entrance Hall, ignoring the stares they were attracting, and saying nothing to the students who approached and asked them if they were all right. Finally, Lily noticed them, and she and her friends walked over.

'Excuse me?' she said. 'Are you okay? You look a little young to be here, if you don't mind me saying so...'

'No, we don't mind,' replied Lily, slightly breathlessly. 'You have such a beautiful voice.'

For a second, Lily Evans looked confused, but then she smiled. 'Um, thank you. So do you. How come you're not in uniform?'

'We're here to visit...' Louis said, but then he trailed off.

'My cousin,' said Lily quickly. 'You might know him... James Potter...'

Now Lily frowned. 'James Potter's your cousin? What's your name?'

'Lily,' she mumbled. 'Lily Potter...'

There was a brief silence, broken only when Louis added: 'My name's Louis, by the way.'

'So, have you seen my cousin?' Lily asked Lily. 'Today?'

'Yes, I have, he's in my year, and my house,' she replied with a slight scowl. 'I saw him in the common room this morning with his friends, he's probably in the Great Hall right now. I don't mean to offend you Lily, because you seem perfectly nice, but your cousin is a bit of a bully.'

'Oh, I know,' said Lily. 'But he's not always like that, you really should...'

But she fell silent from the warning look Louis gave her, and at that moment the doors to the Great Hall opened again, and four figures appeared.

'Oh, Evans, there you are. Can I talk to you for a minute?'

'No. But why not talk to your cousin Lily, she wants to see you.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks, as always, for all the reviews/favourites/alerts :)**

Chapter Seven – The First Attack

There was a brief silence as Lily's words echoed across the entrance hall. Louis looked as though he wanted to crawl into a hole, while his cousin went bright red.

'What did you say, Evans?' James said after a while.

'I don't want to talk to you, so why don't you talk to your cousin instead?' said Lily very slowly. 'She's come a very long way to see you, after all.'

James laughed. 'I don't have a cousin.'

'Yes you do,' said Lily, frowning. 'She's right here.'

And, with a small push, Lily forced Lily from next to Louis, so that James could see her clearly.

'Hello,' she said quietly. 'My name's Lily Potter...'

'No way,' said Sirius with a laugh. '_Lily_? That's a horrifying coincidence.'

'Why?' Lily asked him, while James stared at his "cousin", mouthing the word over and over again.

'Oh, never mind,' Sirius replied, smirking. 'You'll find out soon enough.'

'Are you sure you're my cousin?' James demanded. 'I mean, Potter's a pretty common surname.'

'Sorry James, you two even look similar,' Remus pointed out. Behind him, Peter was nodding in agreement.

'Oh, hello,' Lily sighed, looking at Remus. Louis nudged her in the ribs. 'Wait, I mean, yes, we do look similar, don't we? I'm your cousin, James. Hello.'

'So how come I've never heard of you?'

'Our parents had a big argument,' Lily replied. 'That's... um... why we've never spoken...'

'Maybe you should send your parents an owl, James,' Remus suggested. 'Ask them if it's true.'

'Yeah, I'll do that,' James said. He looked very confused. 'Are you guys coming?'

'Sure,' Sirius shrugged, and the four marauders made their way up the staircase. Lily Evans looked like she was having some sort of internal battle; finally she ran up the staircase after them, and called: 'Why is it a horrifying coincidence?'

'Come on,' Louis muttered. 'We have to go back.'

'Can't we staya bit longer?' Lily asked him.

'No! This is our chance. I think we can assume the others aren't here,' he insisted, and Lily followed him, somewhat reluctantly, back to the time hole.

'Won't they wonder where we've gone?' Lily added as Louis ripped open the tapestry.

'Probably,' he replied. 'Look, if we manage to find the others then we can come back here for a bit, okay?'

'Okay,' she said, and together they stepped into the time hole. For a moment they were stuck in the middle, but eventually they fell through the other side.

It was night time. They made their way into the entrance hall, and as they did so they noticed that the Great Hall had been heavily decorated.

'Louis, look, it's Halloween,' Lily whispered.

'Which means that we're not back in the right time period,' he muttered. 'We better go back - '

At that moment, however, it seemed that the feast was at an end, as all the students stood up and began making their way out of the hall. And at the front of the crowd, talking to her own mother, was Roxanne.

'Roxy!' Lily exclaimed. 'Louis, it's Roxy! So I guess she and Hugo didn't make it back...'

'Lily? Louis?' came a voice from behind Roxanne. It was Molly. 'What are you two doing here?'

'Could ask you the same question,' replied Louis. 'Is everyone here?'

Molly nodded. 'Come on, I'll take you to Dumbledore, he'll sort you out.'

'Dumbledore? Wow, I can't believe we get to meet Dumbledore!' said Louis entusiastically. 'Is he in the Great Hall?'

'He left a few minutes ago, I think,' said Molly. 'I'll show you the way to his office.'

And they joined the crowd heading up the marble staircase, hardly anyone paying them the slightest bit of attention.

'Oh, I can't wait to see James and Al!' Lily was saying. 'It's been great acting like an only child, but I really want to see them again. And the others, of course... why has everyone stopped?'

'I don't know,' said Molly, frowning.

The three of them stopped at the back of a crowd, all of whom were whispering and pointing at something on the wall.

'Lets try and get closer,' Louis said, and he began pushing a way through the crowd.

They were nearly at the front when a lone voice spoke above the whispering of the crowd.

'Enemies of the heir beware! You'll be next, mudbloods!'

'Who said that?' Molly muttered. 'What an awful thing to say!'

They pushed to the front of the crowd. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus, Rose, Hugo, James and Fred were all stood in the centre of the crowd, and on the wall was a cat, hanging and completely still. Lily gasped. Albus noticed her and Louis standing with Molly, and he groaned. if anything more was needed to make this worse...

'That poor cat!' Lily whispered as the caretaker came into view. 'Did dad do that?'

'I doubt it,' Molly assured her.

Eventually other teachers came, and Harry and the others were lead away.

'I guess you can't see Dumbledore yet,' said Molly shakily. 'So I guess... I'll take you to the library... you can see Victoire...'

Louis would have groaned, but the situation felt too serious to make light of, so he said nothing. They looked up at the wall as they passed.

'The Chamber of Secrets?' Lily read. 'I've heard of that, I think.'

'Best not to think about it,' said Molly firmly, who knew quite a bit about it from her dad.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Dear Tom,_

_Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, was attacked today, and they found Harry, Ron, Hermione and quite a few of the time travellers at the scene of the crime. There was a message on the wall, saying that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Do you know what that is? I can't remember where I was when the cat was attacked, and there's paint and feathers on my robes that I'm not sure how it got there. I just found myself in with the rest of the crowd while they took Harry and the others away, but they came back not long after that, so it must not be their fault._

_There's another thing as well. There are another two time travellers. Lily Evans and Louis Delacour, and it's obvious they're far too young to be here. Do you think it's safe for me to explore the time hole?_

_From,_

_Ginny_

**Dear Ginny,**

**A cat was attacked? Don't worry, Ginny, everyone has blank periods every now and again. I expect you were at the Halloweed feast with everyone else, you mentioned yesterday that it was supposed to be especially good this year. I have heard of the Chamber of Secrets, but I will say nothing more for now. **

**As for the time hole, I think it wise for you to explore it. I am... curious... as to what the future will hold. And I'm sure you are curious too. I think it will be safe enough, if three groups of people have travelled through.**

**From,**

**Tom**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again :) Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts.**

Chapter Eight** – **Ginny's Time Travelling Adventures

'Why does Professor Dumbledore want to see you?' Hermione asked Rose and Albus the day after the attack on Mrs Norris. 'He doesn't still think we're responsible, does he?'

'I hope not,' Rose replied. 'If it's anything serious, we'll tell you, okay?'

Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded, and Albus and Rose left the common room.

'What do you think about that attack?' Albus asked Rose as they hurried along the corridors.

'I'm not sure,' Rose said, biting her lip. 'I think Dad may have mentioned the Chamber of Secrets at some point, but Mum made him stop talking. So it's obviously much worse than just a cat being attacked… I'll try to look it up in the library.'

When they arrived at the stone gargoyle they found all the other time travellers already congregated there, including the newest editions, Lily and Louis.

'Thank God you two are here,' James sighed. 'None of us can remember the password.'

'Really?' said Rose. 'Not even Molly?'

'I honestly can't remember, I was far too stressed about the fact we'd _gone back in – _'

'Sh, Molly,' Victoire muttered.

'Well, I can remember,' said Albus. 'Sherbet Lemon!'

The stone gargoyle sprang to life and leapt to one side, so they all ascended the moving spiral staircase. Dominique knocked on the door, and Dumbledore said 'Enter'.

'Ah, good evening,' he said. 'I would invite you all to take a seat, but even if you hadn't swelled in ranks there wouldn't be nearly enough.'

'Sir, what did you want to see us about?' Lucy asked him tentatively. 'Is it about that cat getting attacked?'

'No, no, I am perfectly convinced of your family's innocence,' he replied. 'No, I merely wished to give you an update on the time-hole.'

Some of them straightened up a little.

'And?' said Albus eagerly.

'I fear it may still be too unstable, especially if such a big group were to go through,' he sighed. 'We are currently looking into other methods of getting you home, actually.'

'Like what?' Rose asked him.

'I believe the Ministry has, for some years, been developing a way of travelling backwards and forwards in years by advancing the power of the time-turners,' he explained. 'But I do not know how soon it will be ready. That's all I called you for, to keep you updated. It would be best if you returned to your common rooms quickly in these… dark times.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Since Ginny was not present for this meeting, she had no way of knowing that the time-hole might be unstable. She was unable to go through the time-hole the next day due to lessons, so the next chance she got was early on a Saturday morning. Most students were still in bed. She ripped open the tapestry, and with a sigh of relief found that the time-hole was still there. For a moment she hesitated, before plunging into the shimmering, glistening mass.

It was the middle of the day, whenever she ended up. A small group of Hufflepuffs were making their way towards the entrance hall, so Ginny hurriedly joined the back of the group. None of them paid her the slightest bit of attention.

The entrance hall was full of students coming in and out of the Great Hall. It seemed to be lunchtime.

'Hey, James, I think your cousin's done a runner…'

'Yeah, there wasn't really much point in sending that letter, was there?'

'But how did they get in – and out – without any of the staff noticing?'

A group of four boys were leaving the Great Hall, and one of them looked almost exactly like Harry. It must have been his father, or a member of his family at least.

'That's a good point, Remus,' said a new voice, and Ginny saw a girl striding across the entrance hall, a girl who had the same green eyes as Harry. Could it be his mother?

'Oh, hello Evans,' said James. 'Talking to us again, are you?'

'Not you, precisely,' she replied. 'I was talking to Remus. He's right. How did none of the staff notice them?'

'I don't know,' James shrugged. 'Must be the old Potter gene.'

'But you were convinced she wasn't your cousin!' Lily exclaimed.

'Well, now I'm not sure,' he replied. 'So, Evans, have you changed your mind about going out with me?'

'No,' she said shortly. 'I will never go out with you, James Potter.'

She turned and walked away. Ginny's head was spinning. That was Harry's father, and the girl walking away was almost certainly Harry's mother… this was too much. She had to go back.

In no time at all she was heading back through the time-hole, but when she stepped out she realised this wasn't her own time. The sun was setting. She was about to turn to go back, but her curiosity got the better of her. She had to at least find out what time this was roughly.

For a moment she stayed by the tapestry, wondering if she should risk going into the entrance hall again, when she heard footsteps. Someone was coming. She dived back behind the tapestry, and peered out.

Harry was striding down the corridor. But he looked much older, about sixteen maybe. And he was not alone. He was holding hands with a girl who looked maybe a little younger than him, a girl with long, flaming red hair… it was her, it was Ginny. Harry looked left and right, to check that no one else was in the corridor, and then they started kissing. The eleven year old Ginny almost gasped, and she stumbled back through the time-hole.

When she flung open the tapestry this time, it looked to be about mid-morning. The Hufflepuffs walking past were all talking excitedly about the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match that was about to start. So she was back in her own time, it seemed. Joining the group of Hufflepuffs, she made her way down to the match, deciding that her adventures would be exciting stuff to tell Tom about.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again :) Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts!**

Chapter Nine - People in Classrooms and Corridors

_Dear Tom,_

_I did quite a bit of time travel today. I met Harry's parents when they were at Hogwarts, which freaked me out quite a lot, so I wasn't there for very long. Then I was somewhere in the future, and guess what… Harry was kissing me! It looked like we were dating! Can you believe that? Of course, you were the one telling me it would happen! Thank you Tom, it looks like you're advice worked. And then I came back to my time, just as the Quidditch match was about to start. Gryffindor won, though Harry got badly hurt in the process. He's in the Hospital Wing tonight. Colin Creevey was taking pictures of him lying in the mud with a broken arm, isn't that awful? And he says he's a fan of Harry._

**Dear Ginny,**

**I am glad you made it back through the time-hole, and that you managed to visit more than one time period. So you and Harry are together in the future? I told you it would all work out in the end. This Colin Creevey is the muggle-born you mentioned at the start of term, isn't it? He shouldn't have embarrassed Harry. I'm sure he'll get his comeuppance, don't worry. Don't go through the time hole again, will you? Not until I say so.**

'Yes, we know Colin Creevey's been attacked, we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick about it this morning,' Hermione told Harry as she added a few ingredients to a cauldron while they sat on the floor of the bathroom.

'It sort of fits, doesn't it?' Hugo added excitedly. The others turned to stare at him. 'Draco Malfoy was probably really annoyed that Harry beat him at Quidditch yesterday, so then he attacked Colin, since Colin is obviously a big Harry fan and was trying to visit him last night!'

'I agree with Hugo,' said Ron. 'I was thinking the same thing, actually.'

Both Hugo and Hermione looked like they wanted to say something to this, but neither of them did, giving Albus the chance to speak up.

'I don't think so,' he said. 'Well, I know we won't know until we get the Polyjuice potion ready, but it seems like a pretty flimsy excuse to attack someone. But I agree that Malfoy was annoyed at Harry beating him at Quidditch.'

'Of course,' said Hugo, and Harry laughed. Hermione smiled and returned to the potion.

'Oh, by the way Al, do you know where Rose is today?' Hermione asked him.

'Yeah, I think she was helping Lily with something,' Albus replied. 'She's really struggling with her school work.'

Rose and Lily were, at that moment in time, leaving the Gryffindor Common Room.

'Where are we going now Rose?' Lily asked her as they set of down the corridor.

'To find Molly,' she replied. 'And ask her what she was thinking, letting Dumbledore take you on as a student. You can't cope without a wand!'

'Maybe it would be better if we went to Dumbledore and asked him to untake me?' Lily suggested.

'Lily, there's no such word as untake,' Rose said. 'But we can go to Dumbledore after I've told off Molly.'

'Oh, ok,' she said. 'So where will Molly be?'

'The Ravenclaw Common Room, probably, but I'm hoping she'll be in the Great Hall,' Rose said as they turned another corner. 'Most people are at this time – '

They both stopped dead as James and Fred came walking down the corridor, accompanied by Professor Lockhart.

'I was just saying to Professor McGonagall, only the other day in fact, about how much you and you're brother look so much like Harry Potter, Evans! I think you could have a real future in doubling up as him for photo shoots, because the poor boy seems a little camera shy… what say you?' Lockhart was saying to James, who looked like he wanted to vomit.

'I think I might be a little camera shy too, Professor,' James told him, while Fred nodded at his side. 'Why don't you ask my brother? He loves all that photo taking stuff.'

'Well, I would, since he looks much more like Harry than you!' Lockhart laughed. 'Why, they look like they could be related, unlike you and Harry – '

Rose and Lily exchanged a quick look, eyebrows raised, as the other three walked past them. Fred waved, while James mouthed 'Help me', which went unnoticed by Lockhart, who was still rambling on.

' – and then, would you believe it, they both ran off! Are you still listening, Evans?'

'Huh? Oh, yes sir! Well, like I said, you'd better off asking my brother. Bye, Lockhart!'

'Oh, goodbye Evans… Johnson…'

Professor Lockhart went one way, James and Fred went the other, and then Rose and Lily were alone in the corridor.

'Come on, we've got to find Molly,' said Rose, deciding not to comment on the scene they had just witnessed.

They had reached the entrance hall when a very unwelcome voice reached their ears.

'Yes, another mudblood's been attacked! Funny, isn't it? It was that pathetic first year fan boy of Potter's, Creevey, the one who was taking pictures at the match yesterday. Two attacks with just over a week between them! If this keeps up, Granger will be gone in no time…'

'It's Malfoy,' said Rose, her eyes narrowed. 'I hate him, he is nothing like Scorpius!'

'Get him Rose,' Lily added. 'He just insulted you're mum; you can say what you like to him!'

'I shouldn't Lily,' she sighed. 'I'll get him when the opportunity arises, don't worry! Now… where's Molly?'

Molly had finished breakfast a while ago, and was making her way along the corridors, searching for an empty classroom in which to do her homework. She often did this at school, even in the future, since she found that the library and the common room were both too noisy. Finally, she reached an unlocked classroom door, and pushed it open. But the classroom was occupied.

'Dad!'


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts. Left the last chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger, right? ;) **

Chapter Ten - Suspicious Parents

Molly was frozen in the doorway of the classroom, her mouth hanging slightly open, as Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater broke apart and looked round at the sound of her voice. Percy and Penelope were both bright red; Molly had gone as pale white as a ghost.

'What – what did you just say?' Penelope asked Molly.

'Never mind,' she replied hastily. 'It was just the first word that came to my head. Sorry to disturb you…'

'Don't tell anyone, will you?' Percy added as Molly turned to leave.

'Why not?' Molly snapped without thinking. 'It's not like anyone would care, would they?'

'I'd rather not explain my reasoning to someone I don't know,' Percy said coldly, and now it was Molly's turn to flush red.

'Don't know?' she hissed. 'Don't know? I'll show you don't know, just you wait – '

'What are you talking about Molly?' Penelope cut in. 'First you yell "Dad", and then you take offence at the fact he doesn't know you! Are you alright?'

'I'm fine,' Molly replied. 'But I don't think your boyfriend is.'

And with that, she walked out of the room in search of a quieter spot, her heart hammering against her chest, hoping that she didn't give too much away.

Ginny, meanwhile, was looking for someone. She'd been thinking about what she'd seen in the future, when she and Harry were kissing in the corridor. Ever since then she'd gone even more red every time she saw Harry, and she'd been thinking about what Albus had told her when he admitted they were from the future. If she wanted to know who Harry's future wife is, she had to look at James's eyes. As she hurried up the Charms corridor, she passed Lily and Rose. They both said hi, and she smiled in return before stopping dead.

'What's the matter Ginny?' Rose asked her.

'Where are you two going?' she said.

'To try and find Molly,' Lily piped up. 'Want to come?'

'No thanks. I don't suppose you've seen your brother, James, recently?'

'What's he done to make you mad this time?' Lily sighed, and Rose subtlety hit her cousin on the back of her head.

'Nothing,' Ginny said, slightly confused. 'I just want to talk to him. So, have you seen him?'

'Yeah,' Lily said, while Rose sighed in relief. 'We passed him and Fred a while ago, trying to escape from Professor Lockhart, though I'm not sure where they went.'

'Oh, well, thanks anyway,' Ginny said, and she walked away from the other two girls without another word.

James and Fred, it turned out, were lounging by the lake with a couple of fellow third years.

'Hey Ginny Weasley!' James exclaimed as she approached, and Fred burst out laughing. 'How can we help you?'

'I just wanted to ask you if you think this is a good idea,' she replied, and her eyes met his. They were brown, and the exact same shade hers' were. She felt her face grow hot.

'Yes?' James prompted her.

'I wanted to know if you thought it would be a good idea if I asked your brother, Al, out,' she said. 'Nothing's really happening with me and Harry, and Al seems so much nicer…'

'No, no,' James replied hastily. 'He's really not, he's awful, and he'd break your heart, seriously.'

'Oh, alright then,' Ginny said. 'That's all I wanted to talk to you about. Bye!'

She quickly turned away from James, Fred and their friends so that she could not see that she'd gone bright red.

Night had fallen, and most of the students had retreated to their Common Rooms. A small group of people were seated at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, shrouded in darkness.

'Wow, it took a while to find everyone,' Victoire sighed. 'Okay, so this meeting has been called by Molly, Lily, Rose and James. Why?'

The four of them stood up, and James spoke first. 'Because I think my Mum knows. She asked me if I thought it would be okay if she asked out Albus. I think she wanted to see how I'd react, to prove that she's our mum.'

'Lily gave it away a bit too,' Rose cut in. 'And this meeting was also called because I wanted to berate Molly about the fact that Lily is a student when she's clearly not ready. However, we have seen Professor Dumbledore this afternoon, and he has agreed that Lily would do better as Madam Hooch's helper.'

'And I may have given a bit away to my Dad,' Molly admitted. 'It's getting harder to hide it from them. I want to tell them so badly. I've only seen my Mum once, and it was enough to make me want to tell her everything.'

'I've seen her more than once,' Lucy added smugly.

'So what do you want us to do?' Roxanne asked. 'Tell them?'

'I think we should,' Louis replied.

'Easy for you to say, neither of your parents are here,' Albus pointed out.

'Oh yeah, good point!'

'I say we should,' Molly said. 'We have to figure out some way of getting them all together, and tell them.'

'Are we all agreed?' Victoire asked. They all nodded, and she smiled. 'Then it's decided. We are going to tell them everything as soon as we can.'


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi again :) Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts. I am a bit rubbish at updating, so I thought, to be more organised, after this chapter I will update this story every Friday (because Friday is normally the day when I have the least on). Does that sound good? Sorry, I'm rambling now. On with the story…**

Chapter 11 – The Battle to Come

_Dear Tom,_

_I've been dying to tell you this but, to be honest, yesterday I was in too much of a daze to write to you. Sorry about that. Anyway, the reason for the fact I walked around like a zombie for most of the day (which resulted in me almost walking into a Slytherin seventh year… scary) was because I think I've figured out who the mother of Harry Potter's children is: me. Can you believe that? I was talking to James yesterday, and he has exactly the same colour eyes as me. And, other than eyes, the girl, Lily, is pretty much exactly like me. I don't really know what I should be thinking right now. I don't want to get too excited, in case they ever decide to reveal to me that their mother is Hermione or something like that. _

_Ginny_

**Dear Ginny,**

**This is very interesting. Of course, I would be extremely pleased if it turns out you are their mother, rather than this Hermione Granger. You told be before that she was a Muggle-born, didn't you? **

**What else has been going on at the school? Is everyone still worked up about the Chamber of Secrets? Maybe you should go through the Time-Hole again, to see if that kiss between you and Harry was just a fluke. It's just a suggestion.**

**Tom**

_Dear Tom,_

_Actually, everyone is still talking about that. It had died down, but something happened earlier today. I forgot to mention it, I've been thinking so much about James, Albus and Lily. Today was the first Duelling Club, and Harry spoke Parseltongue! So now everyone seems to think that he's the Heir of Slytherin. I don't believe Harry could attack Muggle-borns. Besides, no one's been attacked in a while. Maybe it's all stopped?_

_Ginny_

**Dear Ginny,**

**They think Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin? Don't think too much about that for now. Just go through the Time-Hole and tell me what you see. Then we'll discuss the Chamber of Secrets a bit more.**

**Tom**

The next day dawned bright yet cold. As Ginny made her way through the corridors she caught snatches of people's conversations, and they were all about the same thing: Harry Potter being the Heir of Slytherin.

'Ginny!' exclaimed Rose, hurrying over to her with Lily by her side. 'We've been looking for you everywhere. Do you think you could come with us for a minute? It won't take long; we just have to tell – '

'Sorry, I've got to get to breakfast now,' Ginny replied. 'Whatever you have to say will have to wait.'

And she hurried off, leaving Lily and Rose standing still in the middle of the corridor.

'How on earth are we supposed to gather them all in one place?' Lily muttered. 'None of them are agreeing to come with us!'

'I think we need a different approach,' Rose whispered. 'We'll discuss new strategies at lunch, is that okay? I have to get to lessons soon.'

'That's fine,' said Lily. 'Hey, Rose, do you think we should have a name for this mission? How about "Operation Tell the Parents"?'

'Nah, that's not very imaginative. Why don't you think about it and tell me some better ones at lunch?'

Meanwhile, Ginny had bypassed the Hall. She wasn't very hungry anyway, but she had decided that she might as well get the time travelling over with. It was odd, really, that she could think about time travel in such a relaxed, almost careless manner. A short time ago she didn't believe it was possible to go back more than a few hours.

None of the Hufflepuffs paid the slightest bit of attention to her as she pulled back the tapestry. The Time-Hole was still there, looking the same as it always did. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through.

When she re emerged into the corridor, the castle seemed deadly quiet. For the first time, Ginny felt very uneasy as she pulled back the tapestry. Her eyes widened, though it took a while for her mind to fully register what she was seeing. The pink light of the early dawn fell across the corridor, showing the few bodies lying in pools of blood on the floor. Ginny gulped, and took a step forward. All the bodies seemed to be adults, and they all wore black robes. Closing her eyes, she hurried along the corridor towards the Entrance Hall. Whatever time this was, she hoped she wouldn't be there in the future.

The Entrance Hall was empty too, but she could hear voices coming from the Great Hall. Lots of voices. She set off towards the door, and peered inside. An odd assortment of people she recognised very well were in there. The House tables had all been pushed to the sides of the room, and bodies lined the floor. Staying as hidden as she could while still being able to see inside, her eyes worked their way across the bodies. This was not too far in the future, obviously, because she could clearly see Professor McGonagall standing at one of the smashed windows. She caught a glimpse of red hair. Her own red hair. The older Ginny was crying, sobbing almost, over someone's body. But she couldn't see who, because it looked like half her family were crowded around the body. So was it one of her brothers?

'They're returning!' Professor McGonagall suddenly cried. 'The Death Eaters are returning, and this time Voldemort's with them!'

Everyone stood up, wands out, and raced for the door to the Great Hall. Ginny managed to hide behind one of the doors before they began pouring into the Entrance Hall. They all pushed their way out of the door in the Entrance Hall, so that they could go outside.

'NO!' It was McGonagall. Ginny ran into the Great Hall, keeping her eyes away from the bodies, and made it to the smashed window.

Voldemort was really standing there, he was really alive, and Hagrid was stood beside him. What was Hagrid doing with Voldemort? Then her eyes fell upon the body in his arms. It was Harry's.

Ginny didn't want to see anymore. She left the Great Hall and raced back to the Time-Hole, not pausing to think about what she had just seen.

When she came back out of the hole, it was her own time. She almost breathed a sigh of relief as she saw many familiar people looking how they should do.

She had to tell Tom as soon as she could. Maybe she had time before lessons…

'Ginny! There you are!'

It was James. Ginny froze as a sudden thought occurred to her. If she had indeed just seen Harry's dead body, then what was James doing here? Surely he shouldn't exist?

'Oh, um, hi James,' she said. 'What's the matter?'

'Remember yesterday you said you wanted to ask out Al? Well, I've arranged for you to meet up this lunch. By the lake,' he said. 'So you can ask him out then. Sound good?'

'Yes, actually,' she replied. 'I would very much like to talk to Albus.'

When Ginny had gone, Fred approached James.

'So did you convince her?' he asked James quietly.

'Yeah, it didn't take much,' he said. 'So now they're all coming. Thank God.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts :) So, today is the day when all will be revealed… this is the best part of time travel fics, isn't it ;)**

Chapter 12 – We're Related!

'Um, Victoire, where are you going?' snapped Madam Pince as the girl made her way to the library door. 'It's your turn to be on library duty this lunchtime!'

Victoire paused by the door, and wheeled round. Madam Pince was standing at the desk, scowling at her.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'But I've really got to go somewhere this lunch. I'll take your shift tomorrow, okay?'

Madam Pince said nothing, and Victoire took that as her way of saying she was allowed to go. She quickly exited the library and began hurrying down the deserted corridor, past classrooms full of students. The bell was going to go any minute.

She was the first to reach the bank by the lake, and sat down by the beech tree. All of a sudden she was reminded of the last time she sat by the lake… a time that hadn't even happened yet…

'This whole thing is messed up,' she whispered as James, Fred, Dominique and Lucy appeared.

'Hey Victoire,' said Dominique. 'Ready for this?'

Victoire looked at her sister incredulously and replied, 'Of course I'm ready. Neither of our parents are here, we don't really have to do much, do we?'

'Lucky,' Lucy muttered. 'Both my parents are dating other people!'

'Don't worry about it,' James said. 'If they take it really badly, then you can just wipe their memories. Or get Lockhart to do it, Dad said that it was the only thing he was good at – '

'We have arrived! No need to panic, we haven't been petrified by Harry yet!'

Fred and George had turned up. They flopped down on the grass, looking expectantly up at the others.

'So why did you want to see us again?' asked George.

'We'll tell you when everyone else gets here,' said Dominique as Roxanne, Louis and Angelina arrived.

'Angelina, what are you doing here?' added Fred.

'No idea,' she shrugged. 'These two dragged me here. Said it was important.'

Lily and Hugo came next, swiftly followed by Percy. He stopped dead when he saw who was there.

'What – what are you all doing here?' he stammered. 'That girl called Molly told me to come here so that we could discuss what she – what she saw the other… the other day…'

'Yes, yes, sorry I'm late!' cried Molly as she half ran towards them. Not far behind her was a fifth year Hufflepuff with long wavy brown hair and hazel eyes – Audrey.

Almost last to arrive were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus and Rose. As soon as Harry was within earshot the twins stood up and exclaimed, 'Make way for the Heir of Slytherin! Harry Potter has arrived!'

Harry grinned at the twins, while Audrey flinched.

'What's wrong?' asked Molly, eyebrows raised.

'He's – he's the Heir of Slytherin, isn't he?' she mumbled. 'He talked to that snake at the duelling club the other day…'

Many of the people around her were glaring at Audrey, but before anyone could say anything more, Ginny had arrived. Like Percy, she stopped dead at the sight of all the people. But, unlike her brother, she seemed to understand what was happening. Hermione too had realised, and was actually looking quite excited. This Audrey must be married to one of the Weasley boys in the future, and she had a good idea of which one.

'So, why have did you want us to come here?' asked Ron. 'I mean, the three of us are doing something really important right - '

But a glare for Hermione cut off Ron's sentence.

'We have something really important to tell all of you,' Victoire explained. 'You know how Professor Dumbledore explained that we were all transfer students, well, that was a lie.'

Hermione and Ginny were both trying to keep composed facial expressions, when in fact inside they were thinking similar things. For Hermione, she was hoping she was about to find out the identity of Rose's father. For Ginny, she was hoping that James, Albus or Lily would finally reveal who their mother was. Everyone else was staring at Victoire.

'So who are you really?' Fred demanded.

'Maybe we should start with our real names?' Dominique suggested. 'Because Victoire, Louis and I are Delacours, but on our mother's side. Our surname is Weasley.'

'You're related to us?' Ron almost yelped. 'How?'

'Well, for a start, all of us here are Weasleys by blood,' added James, and Ginny had to surpress the urge to jump in the air and yell for joy. 'Though Albus, Lily and I go by a different surname: Potter.'

'But, you can't be related to me,' said Harry after a moment's silence. 'I don't have any family.'

'You do in the future,' Lily told him. 'That's right. We're from the future.'

There was a longer period of silence, finally broken by Fred and George bursting into laughter, and George saying, 'You can't be from the future. That's impossible.'

'It's really not!' said Roxanne, flaring up at once. 'My name is Roxanne Weasley, and I am the youngest daughter of George and Angelina Weasley!'

Angelina began coughing and spluttering as though she was choking on something. Audrey thumped her on the back, and she eventually ceased coughing.

'You must be lying, surely?' Percy said at the same time Ron asked, 'So who are the parents of the rest of you?'

'Uncle Percy we're not lying, and Uncle Ron I am the older child of George and Angelina, Fred,' replied Fred. 'Named after my favourite uncle!'

'I don't have a kid called George do I?' piped up Fred.

There was a brief, awkward silence.

'No, you decided that that name is very uncool,' said Victoire finally. 'You didn't have a child until very late in life, so he's only a baby. He's called Leo.'

'I always did think that George was the worst name of the two,' said Fred.

'You don't actually believe this, do you?' said Percy incredulously. When Fred nodded his head he added, 'Oh, so you do? Then tell me,' now he addressed the time travellers. 'Are any of you my children? Have I been so unimaginative as to name them after family members? Do I have a son and daughter named Arthur and... Molly...' Percy's eyes widened as he glanced over at Molly, who was standing by Lucy and Audrey. She waved at him.

'Hi Dad,' she said. 'Have you met my sister, Lucy?'

'Or,' Lucy added, 'Our Mum, Audrey?'

Now Audrey flinched more than she had done when Harry had arrived. She even went bright red.

'I'm your Mum?' she asked Molly and Lucy. 'I can't be... I've never spoken to Percy Weasley in my life! I've got a boyfriend!'

'You don't always marry the person you date at school,' Lucy reminded her. 'You and Dad meet at the Ministry. Trust me.'

'What about the rest of you then?' said Harry. 'You three said you were Potters, so,' the expression on his face changed dramatically, and the colour drained from it. 'So your my children? I - I have children? How? I mean, who am I married to?'

James raised an eyebrow. 'Weren't you listening? We're all Weasleys by blood, even if our surname is Potter.'

'And don't you think I look like Mum?' added Lily, beaming at her dad.

That was it, pure proof as far as Ginny was concerned. At some point in the future she married Harry Potter, and together they had three children. Harry still looked a little confused.

'Harry,' said Hermione gently. 'You marry Ginny Weasley.'

Harry turned bright red, and stared at his feet. Hermione looked at Rose and said, 'So tell me. Who is your father?'

Rose smiled. 'Come on Mum, I'm sure you've figured it out. Who else is left? It's certainly not Hugo; he's my brother.'

Hermione's eyes widened as Rose looked at her family and said, 'My name is Rose Weasley, and this is my younger brother Hugo. Guess who are mother and father are.'

'Ron and Hermione,' said Harry after a second's pause. He looked faintly shocked at himself for staying that. Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about it, and neither was Ron. After all, Hermione was thirteen, and Ron was only twelve; they had never felt anything like love for anybody, let alone each other.

It was Percy who broke the silence, saying stubbornly, 'Do you really think I'll believe you just like that? I need proof, real proof. Or at least explain to me how you got here.'

'We can show you all the time-hole, if you like,' said Molly. 'Everyone, follow me if you want to know the truth. When we're there we can explain everything.'

Everyone did follow Molly back up to the castle, except Ginny. She remained by the lake, her feeling of elation increasing. She was so happy, she even felt light headed, dizzy almost. The world seemed to be spinning about her. She closed her eyes, and something in her brain was telling her to fight. But to fight what? She began to sway on the spot, before her mind left her control. It was now in control of Tom Riddle.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts, and here's hoping you enjoy the next chapter :)**

Chapter Thirteen – The Boy With Green Eyes

'So this is it? This is the time hole?' asked Hermione quietly as the group of them stood before the glistening substance.

'Yes, that's it,' Rose replied. 'Do you believe us now, Percy?'

Percy nodded, not taking his eyes off it.

'Can – can we go through?' Harry added.

'Professor Dumbledore says that it's too risky,' said Rose, 'because the Time Hole gets weaker and more unpredictable every time someone uses it. Thank God it's not in a more obvious place!'

'So that's why you can't go… um… forward yet,' Ron said. 'In case you get… what, trapped in the hole?'

'Dumbledore didn't really go in to much detail,' said Molly. 'But yes, that's why we're still here.'

'It's probably best if none of you come any where near it in future,' warned Albus, 'in case you're the ones that get trapped, or get stuck in the time of the Founders or something…'

'You're probably right, Harry clone,' said Fred with a smirk. 'Come on George. We have more important things to worry about than this lot.'

One by one, they all left. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Rose and Albus were the last ones there, the first three staring almost longingly at the Time Hole.

'Come on,' sighed Rose eventually. 'If we hurry we can do a bit more to the Polyjuice Potion before the end of lunch.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

None of them had really noticed that Ginny wasn't around. While they were continuing with the potion, Ginny was just leaving Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, rubbing her hand across her forehead. It felt like it was on fire, and she couldn't remember how she had got down this corridor. The last thing she remembered was being by the lake, when she found out the true identity of James, Albus, Lily and the others…

She stopped dead at what she thought was the sound of something moving. She shook her head, even though it hurt to do so, because the sound seemed to have come from the walls. It must have been the sound of the snow gently thudding against the glass of the windows. When had it started snowing? It wasn't when she had been by the lake, but that can't have been too long ago. No, the snow flakes were still small, and there was only a fine layer of it outside. It was still lunchtime.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Evans…'

'Leave me alone, Potter.'

'That's not very nice. You don't even know what I was going to say!'

'I can guess, though.'

'Oh really? Then what was I going to say?'

'You were going to ask me out… again.'

James sighed, while Lily continued reading her book, seemingly indifferent. They were in the library, Lily reading about rare plants as part of their Herbology homework, James staring at her profile.

'Well? Are you going to go out with me?' he asked her.

Lily slammed the book shut. 'No. How many times do I have to say it? I don't want to go out with you, and I never will. Now why don't you run back to your little friends and continue terrorising first years?'

'We don't do things like that!' James exclaimed. 'Well, not all the time. Come on, Evans, don't you even like me a little bit?'

'Not even a little bit,' she assured him. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go somewhere where I can get a bit of peace and quiet…'

She hurried out of the library, leaving James alone at the table.

She was away from him, but had no idea where to go now. She could always try the common room, but it was bound to be full of students on a lunchtime as wet outside as this one. The classrooms were likely to be full to. Lily found herself walking down the marble staircase and into the Entrance Hall. She remembered, for some reason, that girl who claimed to be James Potter's cousin. Her name was Lily. Sirius Black was right, it was a horrifying coincidence. But where did she and that boy go? Where they had come from? She found herself walking towards the corridor that lead to the Hufflepuff dormitories. They were standing near there, so had they come from there? Was there some secret door down there that no one else knew about? Maybe it lead to somewhere where she could study.

She hurried along the corridor, which she had rarely been down. She knew the kitchens were down here, but their exact location was a mystery. She stopped next to a tapestry. Sometimes tapestries revealed small corridors. Good places to study, probably. She wrenched open the tapestry, and was pleased to find a corridor. What she wasn't expecting a glistening, shimmering thing blocking the corridor halfway along. She took a step nearer to it. Was this how they got here? She hesitated. Really, she needed to find somewhere to do her homework. But how long could this take?

She stepped into the multi coloured vortex, and as soon as she did it began to shake violently. Her heart began to quicken, wondering if whatever it was dangerous to be in there, when she suddenly left it again. She was back in the corridor. Lily sighed, feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment that nothing much had happened. Pulling open the tapestry, she made her way back along the corridor, before stopping in her tracks.

Something was wrong. It was night, the torches were lit. A quiet murmuring sound was coming from the Great Hall. Taking a deep breath, she opened the doors to the hall. Hardly anyone was in there, just a small group of people seated at the Gryffindor Table. But they were all adults. They all looked round as she entered. The talking stopped at once. One of the men dropped their cutlery on the floor, before he stood up. She took a step back. He looked like James Potter, but there was something different. He was older, his nose was slightly different, and his eyes… they were bright green. Just like her own. So it wasn't James, but why did they look so similar? And why did he have her eyes? Some of the other people had hands clapped to their mouths. One of the women looked like they were about cry.

'But that's…' one of the other men had stood up. He, Lily was pleased to see, looked nothing like James; this man was tall, gangly, red haired, blue eyed and freckled. 'That's… blimey Harry, isn't that…?'

'Yeah,' the man nodded, coming closer to Lily. This time she didn't move back. When he was close enough, she could see that even he looked like he was about to cry. 'It's my Mum. But how?'


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello :) Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts/ **

Chapter Fourteen – The Truth

At the man's words, everyone stood up. Lily could only blink at them all, unsure of what to say next. That man said she was his mum, but he looked like James, and the school was empty except for these people, and… it was all just a bit too much. She had so many questions, but where should she start?

'Who are you all?' she asked, 'and why are there no students here?'

'There are no students here because it is the summer holidays,' replied one of the other men. He looked older than the others, and nothing like James. 'But these people are staying at the castle because their children have gone missing here. And I think it's beginning to become clear where they've gone…'

'It's not the summer holidays, it's March!' she exclaimed. 'And you still haven't answered my first question. Who are you all?'

'My name is Professor Haryn, the headmaster of Hogwarts,' replied the man. 'As for everyone else…'

'He called me his Mum,' she said instantly, looking over at the James look-a-like. He seemed to have gone very white, and the red headed woman next to him was having to hold his hand to steady him. 'But that's impossible. That's… time travel?' she said, and suddenly she experienced a thrill of fear. How else was any of this possible? The fact that none of the students were here, that it was the summer holidays, that this man was claiming to be her son. And it explained who Lily and Louis really were.

'I think it might be time travel, yes,' said Professor Haryn.

'Lily?' said the James – no, said her son – 'My name is Harry Potter. And I am your only child.'

'So I get married to James Potter!' she shrieked, then tried to calm herself down. She was beginning to feel shaky too. 'Harry, you said?' He nodded, and she nodded too. 'That's a wonderful name.'

One of the women at the table had silent tears running down her face. Lily blinked.

'Why is everyone so surprised to see me?' she asked Harry. 'Oh, Harry,' she added. 'Why are you crying?'

Just like the bushy haired woman, Harry was crying. He hastily wiped them away.

'No reason, really. It's not that I'm upset; quite the opposite actually. Here, Mum, this is my wife, Ginny.'

The red head walked over to Lily and smiled at her.

'You have an amazing son, Mrs Potter.'

Lily almost smiled back, but then she said, 'Please don't call me that. I hate James Potter.'

'I think we have evidence to the contrary,' said the red haired man, pointing at Harry.

'Um, yeah, his name's Ron Weasley,' said Harry. 'He's one of my best friends. My other best friend is Hermione Weasley, over there -' he indicated the bushy haired woman who had now stopped crying. '- who is also Ron's wife. These others are the rest of the Weasley family; Bill, Fleur, Percy, Audrey, George, Angelina and Teddy Lupin.'

'Lupin?' Lily repeated. 'As in, he's related to Remus?'

'He's my Dad,' said the brown haired young man at the far end of the table. 'You know him, don't you? What's he like?'

'He's… he's kinder than his friends,' Lily replied. 'And he's very kind anyway. It's a shame he doesn't have more friends, really. Hold on… why do you want to know what he's like? He isn't dead is he? What year is this?'

'This is July 2018,' Professor Haryn replied. 'And yes, Remus Lupin is dead. He died just over twenty years ago.'

Lily bit her lip. 'Am I dead? Is that why you were crying?'

Harry nodded. 'You died when I was one. So did James.'

Lily bowed her head. 'I'm sorry,' she mumbled.

Harry hugged her. 'Don't be. It's not your fault. You saved my life, actually.'

Lily said nothing to this, and no one spoke until they broke apart.

'May I just say that it is an honour to meet you, Lily Potter,' Professor Haryn, 'and your appearance will be of a great help to us, I think. If you've come from the past, what's to say that the children haven't time travelled as well?'

'They have!' Lily exclaimed. 'I saw two of them quite a while ago; they were called Louis and Lily. Lily said that she was James's cousin. But she was my granddaughter, wasn't she?' she asked Harry and Ginny, who both nodded.

'But they're not in your time period anymore?' Professor Haryn prompted her.

'No, they left pretty quickly,' she said. 'Would you like me to show you how I got here?'

Everyone nodded, and they followed Lily out into the Entrance Hall, down the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff Common Room, before stopping by the tapestry. She ripped it open, revealing the hole.

'It's a Time-Hole,' Professor Haryn told them all. 'These are very rare, and very unstable. Their condition deteriorates the more they get used, so is it wise to send Lily back?'

'I think I can manage,' Lily replied. 'But if that's the case, is their some other way of getting the others home?'

'Looks like we'll have to contact the Ministry,' Professor Haryn sighed. 'Well, goodbye Lily. I'm sorry, but we'll have to wipe your memories.'

Lily nodded. 'I'll just say goodbye, then.' She turned to Harry. 'Harry, I want you to know that I'm really pleased to meet you. I know that – that if we'd had enough time together, I'd be extremely proud of you, and I know I will have been anyway, when you were baby, even if I am married to James Potter,' she laughed. 'I love you. Okay, I'm going now. Obliviate me.'

Harry gulped before muttering, '_Obliviate._'

Lily's eyes fluttered shut.

'Right, someone has to take her through,' said Professor Haryn.

'I will,' said Teddy immediately.

'And you'll come straight back?' asked Ginny, eyebrows raised.

Teddy just smiled and held on to Lily. He lead her to the Time-Hole.

'We'll see,' he replied as they stepped into the hole.


	15. Chapter 15

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Chapter Fifteen – The Trainee Gamekeeper

Lily was coming back to her senses as Teddy brought her into the Entrance Hall. He wasn't sure if this was her time, but there was only one way to find out. He waited for someone, anyone, to appear. Of course, he was hoping that it was either his Mum's or his Dad's time, and he really wished that they could have gone to school at the same time, but you couldn't have everything in life. Teddy knew that very well, and so did his godfather.

He glanced at the teenage girl slowly opening her eyes. Harry really was pleased to see her, even if it rendered him speechless half the time. Would Teddy be that way if he saw his parents? He really wanted to find out.

'Why am I in the Entrance Hall?' said Lily suddenly. She wheeled round and saw Teddy. 'Who are you? You look… you look… oh, my head hurts.'

She clapped a hand to her forehead as the doors of the Great Hall opened, and a few people came spilling out.

'Lily? What are you doing there?' asked one of the girls in a Gryffindor uniform, and Teddy's heart leapt – Remus was here somewhere.

'I'm not sure,' Lily replied. 'I was getting away from James Potter, and I ended up here.'

'He's not still asking you out, is he?' sighed the girl.

'I'm afraid so, Marlene,' Lily sighed too.

'Who's that?' Marlene added, looking round Lily. 'He looks a bit old for school… and cute at the same time.'

'My name is Teddy,' he said. 'And I'm here to see Remus Lupin.'

Marlene raised an eyebrow. 'Really? He's still in the Great Hall, I think.'

'I'll check, thanks,' Teddy said. 'Oh, and by the way, thanks for calling me cute and everything, but I'm taken.'

'By Remus?' Marlene asked, and she sniggered. 'Oh, sorry, couldn't resist. You look a bit like him, actually.'

Lily shot Teddy a funny look, but said nothing.

'Come on Marlene, let's go back to the common room…'

The two girls made their way towards the stairs, and Teddy darted to the Great Hall door. He paused, his door on the handle. It probably wasn't the best idea to burst into the Great Hall. He would wait until Remus came out. Then he would say hello. Or at least make his father aware of his presence. His heart beat quickened. He was going to see his father, in the flesh. He was really going to be there.

The doors of the Great Hall opened again, and… two Hufflepuff first years came rushing out. Teddy bit his lip. It could take Remus forever to come out of the Hall, and Teddy had already been without for just over twenty years. The doors opened again.

'Where is James anyway?'

'He went up to the library to declare his love for Lily… again.'

'Ha!'

'Sirius, don't laugh. You know it's mostly your fault that James keeps asking her out. Because you encourage him.'

'That's because I'm a supportive friend! Whereas you two seem to not want him to be turned down time after time…'

Three boys walked out of the Hall. Teddy recognised them from the pictures that Harry had salvaged from Sirius's bedroom. Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. His father.

Teddy wanted to run after him as he and his friends made their way towards the staircase, wanted to say something, but his mouth had gone dry. His father looked so young compared to most of the pictures. He looked healthy, he looked happy, he looked almost unrecognisable, but there was something about him that was so like Teddy.

Teddy was starting to walk towards the stairs when Peter Pettigrew noticed him. He had to resist the urge to curse the rat, knowing about the future as he did. Peter nudged Sirius, then Remus, and they both turned to look. This was the first time he could remember his father meeting his eyes. Right now, all three of the boys looked puzzled.

'Who's that?' asked Remus. 'And why isn't he in uniform?'

'Looks a bit too old to be at school, if you ask me,' Peter added.

'No one did ask you, did they Peter?' said Sirius. 'Hey, what's your name?'

'Teddy,' he replied, as loudly as he could. He was afraid of opening his mouth and nothing coming out. He smiled. 'My name's Teddy. And it's really good to meet you.'

'Really? I had no idea I was so well known!' Sirius joked as Teddy walked off, away from the Marauders, even if he didn't want to.

As he reached the corridor that lead to the time-hole, he looked back. The three boys were making their way back up the stairs, but Remus glanced at Teddy. He turned to face Sirius and Peter, and Teddy heard him say, 'Well, that was odd. Don't people normally tell you their surnames as well?'

Then, they disappeared from sight. Teddy made his way along the corridor, smiling even though he was crying a little. That was his father. He had just seen his father. It was a blessing in disguise when Victoire and the others went through that time-hole.

Teddy stopped dead by the hole. Victoire and the others. They knew where they had gone now, but how do they get them back? Professor Haryn had told them that they grew more dangerous with each use. Would they contact the Ministry back home and find some alternative way?

If, by some chance, he were to end up wherever Victoire was, why shouldn't he stay there? He could let them know that their parents were trying to get them back. And he did miss them.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped back through the hole, away from his father. If only he could find his way into his mother's time on the way to Victoire's, that would be the best thing to ever happen to him… unless, of course, that was where Victoire was.

The castle was dark, cold and quiet. Snow was swirling past the windows as he made his way up to the Entrance Hall. The doors of the Great Hall were open, and light was spilling from within. Hardly any noise was coming from the Hall, so he decided it would be safe to look in and check.

He poked his head round the door, and caught sight of twelve magnificently decorated Christmas trees. The Hall was almost completely empty. It was obviously the Christmas holidays, and hardly anyone was around to enjoy it, whatever year he was in. He looked up at the staff table, and found that most of them were watching him. None of the students had really noticed him yet. He found a young woman sat at the end of the table. She looked completely taken aback.

'Teddy?' she said, and all heads turned to him.

'Victoire,' said Teddy, nodding.

The man Teddy knew to be Albus Dumbledore turned his attention to Victoire.

'Miss Delacour, who is this man?' he asked her.

'Teddy Lupin,' she replied, and then she hesitated. 'He's the new trainee Gamekeeper, remember Headmaster?'


	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter Sixteen – Night Time Wanderings

'There he is!'

'Where?'

'Over there!'

'Oh, with Miss Delacour from the library. Are they going out?'

'Ugh, I hope not!'

These sort of comments followed Teddy wherever he went the next day. After dinner and Victoire's declaration that he was the trainee Gamekeeper, he and the other time-travellers had been whisked away to Dumbledore's office.

'My name is Teddy Lupin,' he told Dumbledore as soon as the last one in, Rose, had closed the door. 'I'm twenty, an orphan, and from 2018. I got here because Lily Evans showed up… well, a few hours ago, I guess, and we found out that this lot had been time-travelling.'

'So Mum and Dad know?' Lily asked him.

Teddy had nodded. 'Yeah. They all know, though I'm not sure what they're going to do…'

Professor Dumbledore sat down and sighed. 'This is quite good news, actually, because I haven't made much progress with the time-hole. It seems to be becoming more unstable at dangerously fast levels, as though someone had been regularly using it. Have any of you been for… er, any night time wanderings through the hole?'

He gave James and Fred a pointed look.

They all shook their heads, and James exclaimed, 'Why are you looking at us?'

'None of us have been through, as far as I know,' Molly added. 'We've all sort of been caught up with the Chamber of Secrets business and telling our parents who we really are.'

'And it can't possibly be one of your parents?' he asked.

'We'll ask them,' Molly promised.

'Oh, and, I hope you don't mind me asking, but does the subject of the Chamber ever come up in the future?' he added. 'I mean, no one dies this time? Forgive me if it seems like I'm asking too much, but this is my students' safety…'

'I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, but even if we knew we couldn't tell you, could we?' Dominique replied.

'Actually, I do know,' said Teddy.

'So do I,' said Victoire. 'Grandad told me about it a few months ago.'

'And I learnt about it from Harry and Ginny,' Teddy said. 'When I was eighteen.'

Dominique scowled, 'That's so not fair…'

'So do you know who did it?' Rose asked eagerly. 'Because it would save Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry a lot of trouble if you… uh…'

She broke off, realising that she couldn't mention the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione were using the Polyjuice Potion at that very minute in front of Dumbledore.

'I have become temporarily deaf, Miss Weasley,' Dumbledore assured her.

'But I can tell you that no one dies, Sir,' Teddy cut in. 'At least, Harry didn't mention anything about that.'

'That's good,' he sighed. 'And now on to more pressing matters. If the people of 2018 know where you are, than that's a start. In the meantime, it looks like we really do have a trainee Gamekeeper. There aren't any more of you, are there?'

'No,' James replied with a laugh. 'Unless you count Scorpius Malfoy, which no one does, except Rose.'

'Watch it, James,' she warned him. 'And there's no way he can get here anyway. He's on his holidays, remember?'

'Well, that's all,' Dumbledore had said. 'Mr Lupin, I will show you to your lodgings. The rest of you can go and enjoy the remainder of Christmas Day.'

Now it was Boxing Day, and while most people were relaxing in their Common Rooms, some of the students, mostly girls, were trying to catch a good sight of Teddy. He was a bit confused, as none of the girls had acted like this when he was at school, and Victoire was switching between giving all the other girls a superior look to looking absolutely delighted that Teddy was there.

'Maybe we should go through the Time-Hole,' Victoire suggested. 'So that you can see your mum, and maybe even your dad again.'

But Teddy shook his head. 'Dumbledore and Haryn both said it was too dangerous. Although I'd love to, I can't.'

Victoire sighed, 'Everyone in 2018 better be doing something to get us home.'

Most of the others, meanwhile, were down at the Hospital Wing, because Hermione had become a sort of half-cat, half-human.

'But we know it's not Malfoy,' she kept saying. 'So it wasn't a complete waste of time.'

'Yeah, but Molly or Victoire could have told us, if we'd asked them,' Rose said glumly. 'They know everything about the Chamber of Secrets, including who opened it, but refuse to tell us.'

'And someone's been using the Time-Hole at lot recently,' Albus added. 'Was it any of you three?'

They all shook their heads.

'Why don't you wait by the hole and see if anyone arrives?' Hermione asked them. 'And will you take these two with you, because they can't stay by my bedside all day.'

'Well, we _could_,' Harry said, but he and Ron were dragged off by Rose, swiftly followed by Albus.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Are you alright Lily?' Marlene asked her friend, frowning.

Lily looked over. 'Yeah, I'm fine, I've just got a little headache. I can't remember much of yesterday. Where did that boy go?'

'You mean Remus's boyfriend?'

'What did you say?'

Remus came over to Lily and Marlene, along with the other Marauders.

'Oh, we were just talking about that disappearing guy from yesterday,' Marlene replied. 'The really cute one that was looking for Remus.'

'Oh, you mean Teddy? He was weird, wasn't he?' said Sirius.

'Evans, where did you go after yesterday on the library?' James added.

'None of your business,' Lily replied, partly because she was having trouble remembering. She'd left the library, gone down the stairs, and turned towards the Hufflepuff corridor for some reason… then it all went blank, and she was in the Entrance Hall, beside Teddy.

'Something happened to me when I went down the Hufflepuff corridor,' she whispered to Marlene that night when they were alone in the Common Room.

'Really?' her friend whispered. 'Let's find out what!'

'No, I'd rather go up to bed,' Lily replied. 'I'm really tired, and my head hurts.'

'Oh alright,' Marlene sighed as they hurried up the stairs. 'But will go tomorrow, promise?'

'Promise.'

The Common Room was empty. It was nearing midnight, but the portrait hole still swung open. Unbeknownst to Lily and Marlene, they hadn't been alone in the Common Room.

'Shall we go to the Hufflepuff corridor then?' Peter whispered.

'Might as well,' Sirius shrugged. 'It's not the full moon yet, after all.'

'Are we all agreed?' James added.

The other Marauders nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

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Chapter Seventeen – Split-Up

The vortex inside the time-hole was wobbling. Wobbling very violently. This, however, did not seem to deter four boys, all of whom were still hidden under the invisibility cloak.

'This is so cool,' said James happily. 'About time we found something new in the school.'

'Lily found it, actually,' Remus reminded him.

James nodded. That was the only reason Remus had agreed to go through the thing when they found it; if Lily had gone through it and come back safely, then they wouldn't be injured or anything. Still, they had been in there for a long time.

'When will this end?' Peter sighed after a while.

'Maybe we should stop walking forwards?' Sirius suggested. 'And, I don't know… go sideways or something?'

He stepped out from under the cloak, and walked sideways, as though to demonstrate. He quickly vanished.

'Sirius!' James called, and he and the others stepped to the side as well.

They fell back out of the hole onto the cold stone floor. James straightened up first, and looked around while the other two got to their feet. He looked around. It was the same corridor they had left, but it was daytime. And there was no Sirius.

'So nothing happened?' Peter asked.

'I would say an awful lot has happened,' Remus replied, looking around with his mouth slightly open. 'This is impossible…'

'I know!' James exclaimed. 'We can't have been in that thing so long that it's now day time…'

Remus sighed. 'I don't think that's what's happened.'

'What do you think has happened then?' Peter added. 'And where's Sirius?'

'Exploring is the only way to find out,' James replied. 'Come on. We'll stay under the cloak, okay?'

They hurried up along the deserted Hufflepuff corridor. It looked to be early morning. In fact, everywhere was deserted. The Entrance Hall, the Great Hall, all the classrooms; no one was around.

'What on earth's going on?' Peter cried.

'Isn't it obvious?' Remus said.

Peter shook his head. James too looked a little confused.

'We've travelled in time,' Remus said. 'I'm not sure how far, but… well, isn't the identity of Lily Potter, her cousin and that Teddy obvious now?'

'Lily Potter, isn't my cousin, but my…' James trailed off. 'What is she? My daughter? My granddaughter? Would I really call my child Lily?'

'Only if you finally accepted that Lily Evans is never going to go out with you, and you still wanted her when you got married to someone else, and had a daughter,' Remus assured him. Well, James supposed he was assuring him.

'But we've travelled in time, have we?' James said. 'I wonder where we are?'

They returned to the Entrance Hall. Since no one was around, James pulled the cloak off them. Just then, the doors leading to the grounds swung open, and a voice echoed from the top of the marble staircase.

'Harry! You have to come down here, _now_!'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sirius had also fallen out of the hole, landing sprawled on the floor. Shakily, he picked himself up. He looked back at the hole, but could see or hear no sign of the others. He paused. Should he go back through? Something didn't feel right. He should wait for James, Remus and Peter, in case they came out. But then… he also wanted to explore.

The Hufflepuff corridor was teeming with students, many of them whispering and muttering excitedly. They all seemed to be talking about three things:

'Do you still think Harry Potter's the Heir of Slytherin, Ernie?'

'Did you see him? The trainee Gamekeeper, Teddy?'

'Guess what? Hermione Granger's in the Hospital Wing! I wonder if she's been attacked?'

None of this sounded very comforting to Sirius, though when he heard the name 'Potter' he got a bit hopeful that he was in the right place. And the right time.

He joined the Hufflepuffs making their way towards the Entrance Hall. A few of them did double takes when they saw him. He assumed it was because they'd never seen him before, until he heard the girl who had just given him an odd look say to her friend, 'That boy looks a lot like Sirius Black…'

'No way,' said her friend, who gave a nervous laugh. 'That's just what we need. A mass murderer as well as Slytherin's monster on the loose…'

Sirius stopped dead. Mass murderer? That couldn't be right. He kept on walking. With any luck, this wasn't the future. Maybe it was some alternate universe. Hopefully it was an alternate universe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

James, Remus and Peter looked up to see a man who looked a lot like James join a red headed woman.

'Ah, Mr and Mrs Potter,' said the person who has opened the door leading to the grounds. 'I think I see now why Professor Haryn called me up here. This could be interesting.'


	18. Chapter 18

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Chapter Eighteen – The Time Gate

Half an hour later, Professor Haryn's office was packed. All the parents, the headmaster himself, James, Remus and Peter were in there, along with the newest arrival, a middle aged wizard in bottle-green robes. He was staring at James, Remus and Peter, frowning slightly. The three of them looked highly confused. No one was talking.

Finally, James burst out, 'Can someone please explain this? After that guy turned up we got dragged to the Headmaster's office, and no one has told us why. Who are you all? Where's Dumbledore? And why does he look like me?'

'James, remember, we figured out we've been time travelling,' Remus said quietly. 'So this is probably the future.'

'Oh, yeah,' said James. 'But we only guessed that! I need to know it's the truth. So, person who looks like me, Harry I think someone called you,' he pointed at Harry. 'What year is this?'

'2018,' Harry replied. He was holding the hand of the red haired woman very tightly. 'And I look like you because I'm – I'm your s-son.'

James's eyes widened, but he laughed and said, 'Oh, well, then that would explain it. So who's your mother? You can tell me, I won't be at all shocked, or fall out of my chair or anything like that!'

Harry hesitated. 'My mother is Lily Evans.'

James's eyes got wider, but it was Remus who fell out of his chair in surprise.

'Why are you so surprised?' James demanded.

'Well,' said Remus, picking himself up off the floor. 'It's just… she's always said no whenever you've asked her out, and really the only way I can see her marrying you at the minute is if you force feed her a love potion or something.'

'She might say no now, but that obviously changes at some point in the future,' James said, gesturing Harry. 'I would never force feed someone a love potion.'

'I know you wouldn't, but, you know, she really doesn't seem to like you at the – '

The man in the green robes cleared his throat loudly, cutting off Remus.

'I think, now that Mr Potter's questions have been answered, it is time I introduced myself?' he said. 'My name is Felix Howell, and I work in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Professor Haryn called me here due to the discovery of a time-hole in the Hogwarts grounds, and the fact that some students had gone through. I am here to assess the state of the time-hole, and whether or not we have to use the Time Gate to get the students back – and to get these students back to their time. Is there anything else, Professor Haryn?'

'Just one thing,' he replied. 'As well as the students, a twenty year old man by the name of Teddy Lupin has also gone through the time-hole. Other than that, we should proceed to the location of the time-hole. The sooner we get the rescue operation under way the better.'

'Hold on, did you say Teddy Lupin?' James said. 'So that guy we met was Remus's…'

'Son,' Harry said. 'He's Remus's son.'

All colour drained from Remus's face. His hands started shaking. 'I… I have a son? That's impossible, wouldn't he be a….'

'No, he isn't,' said the red haired woman. 'But he is a Metamorphmagus, like his mother.'

'His mother is Nymphadora Tonks,' Harry added when Remus opened his mouth again.

'This is a bit too much to take in at once,' James sighed. 'Maybe meeting the me in the present will help, so that I know that this isn't all a dream.'

Harry exchanged a nervous glance with some of the other people in the room, but before any of them could say anything Felix Howell said, 'There isn't enough time. The time-hole is getting more and more dangerous, but it might still be useful in getting the students here and you back, so I must assess it as soon as possible.'

James looked like he wanted to argue, but he just nodded. All of them left Professor Haryn's office.

'So what's this Time Gate you mentioned, Mr Howell?' the woman with bushy hair asked as they made their way along the corridors.

'The Time Gate is something the Department of Mysteries has been developing for the past thirty three years,' he replied. 'And that's all I can say for now, I'm afraid.'

Felix Howell spent about an hour going around the time-hole, tapping it with his wand and measuring it. Finally he said, 'This time-hole is dangerously unstable. In its present state no more than one person can through, or it will close and the people inside will be trapped.

'So we're stuck here?' Remus said.

'And Sirius is stuck wherever he is,' James added.

'Yes and maybe not,' Felix Howell said. 'If Mr Black figures out what's happened, he could safely get back. But eventually not even one person will be able to get through safely, so it's risky to send you three back one at a time.'

The three of them nodded.

'How soon can you get the Time Gate over here, Felix?' Professor Haryn asked him.

Felix Howell sighed heavily. 'Three months, four months at the most.'

'Three months?' they chorused.

'There's a lot of paper work involved, and the Time Gate's never been used before, so we need to do more tests to make sure it's completely safe before we use it,' Felix Howell explained. 'I'm sorry.'

'At least they will come back eventually,' Professor Haryn added brightly.

'Unless they're stuck in a dangerous time period,' Harry muttered under his breath.

James, however, was looking quite happy.

'Then we have plenty of time for proper introductions, no? And now there's time for me to meet the present me!'


	19. Chapter 19

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Chapter Nineteen – The Real Him

They all exchanged slightly uncomfortable looks, prompting Remus to say, 'Why don't we get the introductions out of the way first?'

Harry nodded and said, 'You already know that I'm Harry Potter, the son of James and Lily. This is my wife, Ginny.'

Ginny stepped towards them. 'It's nice to me – I mean, it's nice to see you looking so young.'

James smiled uncertainly at her, and they shook hands.

'All of these people are Weasleys, and my brothers- and sisters-in-law,' Harry continued. 'Ron and Hermione Weasley,' he gestured a tall and freckly red haired man and the woman with bushy brown hair, 'are also my best friends. Then there's George and Angelina, Percy and Audrey, and Bill and Fleur.'

'That's an awful lot of brothers- and sisters-in-law,' said James with a laugh. 'Wait… how many siblings does Lily have?'

'One,' said Harry. 'And she's going to be quite horrible about our world, so I wouldn't worry about her.'

'And you're all staying at the castle until you manage to get your children back?' Remus added as he shook hands with everyone.

'Well, all the students will be back soon, and now we know roughly when we'll be getting them back,' Professor Haryn looked at them all, 'I don't suppose you'll mind all going home until it's time to use the Time Gate?'

They all shook their heads, and Harry added, 'That's fine.'

'We can go home with you,' James said eagerly. 'And then I'll introduce myself to the present me!'

'It might be safer if we stay here,' Remus pointed out, guessing from the return to the uncomfortable and awkward looks what was to happen between their time and this one. 'You might give the present you a heart attack if you suddenly showed up.'

James looked shrewdly at his friend, before sighing and saying, 'Maybe your right. Can we stay here, Professor Haryn?'

'You three will have to, yes, though it would be best if you stayed away from the main school,' he shifted uncomfortably. 'I'm afraid most of them would recognise you…'

'Really? Are we famous?' asked James.

'In a way,' Professor Haryn replied. 'Anyway, I'll go arrange a place for you to all stay within the castle, and the… er, current Potters and Weasleys can go and pack their bags. I'll arrange for a Portkey…'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sirius, meanwhile, was in a bit of trouble. He really had no idea where he'd been taken, but when he made the decision to enter the Great Hall, he immediately regretted it. Many people were in there, eating breakfast, but the hall fell silent when he entered. When Professor Dumbledore stood up, and Sirius could see how he looked older, that he realised this was the future. Many of his own teachers were still at the staff table, but none of them looked particularly happy to see him. Professor McGonagall had actually gone a ghostly white; Professor Flitwick dropped his knife and fork, and one of the teachers he didn't remember stood up, eyes narrowed… a teacher that looked a lot like Snape.

'What kind of twisted world is this?' Sirius said out loud, whilst looking at Snape.

The shock of his sudden appearance was wearing off; many people were starting to look exceptionally pale, and one student actually screamed: 'It's Sirius Black! We have to get out of here before he kills us all.'

Lots of the students started talking at the same time, all in panicked voices, but Dumbledore said, 'Silence, please, and try to remain calm. This is not Sirius Black.'

The babble died down instantly.

Sirius took a step back towards the doors, getting ready to go. If this was the future, he didn't like it one bit. As he turned to go, he caught sight of a boy who looked a lot like James sitting with a red haired boy, staring curiously at him with eyes like Lily Evans'. This was definitely some sort of alternate universe, he decided as he hurried out of the hall. He just hoped he could find the way back to his own world.

He hurried along the Hufflepuff corridor, wrenched open the tapestry, and rushed through the time hole, throwing himself sideways out of it as soon as he could. When he stood up again, it was night. He took this to be a good sign, though he was worried about the fact that his friends were no where to be seen.

When he reached the common room, it was empty. He got to his dormitory, and found that four of the beds were empty. He was back, even if his friends weren't.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Shall we go visit Hermione now?' Rose asked Harry, Ron and Albus as they made their way out of the Great Hall.

Ron cast a glance left and right before saying, 'Maybe not, Sirius Black could be lurking anywhere…'

'He's innocent,' said Rose shortly, not bothering with the withholding of important future information as she normally would. 'He was wrongly accused, and you, Harry and Mum are going to clear his name… sort of… next year.'

Ron winced. 'Please don't call Hermione "Mum", it makes me feel a little funny…'

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Fine. Now shall we go visit her?'

'Yeah, it'd be nice to visit and not have to give her homework…'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ginny was, on the instructions of Tom, making her way back to the time hole, not knowing that it had already been used that day. In fact, when she went through, it did feel a little different to normal, but she thought nothing of it. She was trying to get to the time when Harry died, to find out more about how it happened, though she didn't want to. She was hoping to go to the time when she and Harry were dating, but she felt her chances were very slim.

It was night when she left the time hole again, a bitterly cold night. Ginny shivered as she made her way down the draughty corridors, not sure where she was going. It was the dead of night, and no one was about. Suddenly, she saw some movement up ahead. She crouched behind a pillar, and saw a student hurry past – a tall, dark haired boy, someone who was probably in their sixth year. As quietly as possible, Ginny followed him.

She followed him up the marble staircase and along various corridors. Just as she was starting to get tired, and beginning to be torn between a desire to return home and a curiosity as to who this boy was, a voice suddenly said, 'Tom? What are you doing, stalking the corridors at this hour?'

Ginny vanished into the shadows as a man she recognised to be a younger Dumbledore approached the boy. Her heart started hammering. He had called him Tom. Could it be her Tom?

'Merely patrolling the corridors, sir,' he replied. 'These are dangerous times, after all.'

'So the teachers are more suited for night time strolls, perhaps?' Dumbledore suggested. 'You should get back to bed, Tom.'

Tom nodded, waited until Dumbledore was gone, and opened a door that definitely didn't lead to a dormitory. Ginny followed, convinced that this was her Tom, real and in the flesh.

They had entered a bathroom, one that Ginny knew to be out of order, and to be a girl's bathroom. Tom made his way to one of the sinks, and what followed changed Ginny's opinion of Tom forever.


	20. Chapter 20

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Chapter Twenty – The Diary

Ginny was barely aware of what she was doing as she hurried along the first floor corridor, back in her own world. All she knew was that she had to get rid of it. The diary. She had to, after what she'd seen in the past.

At the sinks, Tom had started making a funny hissing sound; a sound that Ginny realised must have been Parseltongue, since it sounded similar to what Harry had said at the duelling club. One of the sinks began to move downwards, and a strange sound escaped from it. As the sink went down, Tom suddenly said, 'I don't know how you got to be here, but this is obviously not your world, little girl. So, if I were you, I'd close my eyes, or I wouldn't have long left to live…'

He was looking at Ginny. She gave a start, and screwed her eyes shut. As she did, she heard something leaving the sink, and Tom whispering to whatever it was in Parseltongue. Did that mean that what ever was in the bathroom was a snake? She heard it approach her, stop beside her, and hiss in her ear. It was a snake.

'Don't worry, I've told him not to harm you,' said Tom in a slightly bored voice. 'He only hurts Mudbloods. Now, why don't you go back to your own world? He's gone back down the pipes now, that was only a bit of exercise. Can't have him being seen in the corridors, can we? So… run along.'

Ginny opened her eyes slowly, nodded, and scurried from the room. She made it back to her own world, where breakfast was still ongoing, and went immediately up to the first floor, with only a vague idea of what she was about to do. All she really knew was that she had to get rid of the diary, much as it pained her to do so, because Tom wasn't as good as she had thought. He was dangerous; he had opened the Chamber of Secrets. And now, now she had a horrible suspicion that he was getting her involved in it, through the diary.

She pulled up short when she reached the entrance to the girl's bathroom, the one where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was located. She hesitated. She should probably tell someone, it would be best… but that would mean admitting she had the diary, and had not handed it in, and would mean she'd have to say that she'd been through the time-hole. Ginny couldn't face that. She would just get rid of the diary, and that would be the end of it. It would be best if she got rid of it in here… it was Out of Order, no one else would dream of coming in here…

'So… why are we in here again?' asked Albus later that day, as they returned from visiting Hermione in the Hospital Wing. 'We don't need this place now that we're not making the Polyjuice Potion anymore.'

'Did you not notice that huge amount of water on the floor out there?' Rose said. 'Moaning Myrtle's… well, moaning about something, and we're going to ask her what about.'

'What about?' came Moaning Myrtle's shriek. 'I'll tell you "what about"! A book! A book fell through my head, while I was just sitting in the U-Bend, thinking about death, and it suddenly came whizzing through me!'

'But – it couldn't hurt you, really, could it?' said Albus nervously. 'Because you're – you're…'

' – dead,' finished Harry.

'Oh, that's right!' Myrtle was close to hysterics by now. 'I can't feel anything, so why doesn't everyone throw a book at me! What fun! Ten points if it goes through her stomach, and how about fifty if it goes through her head! How entertaining!'

'Myrtle, calm down,' said Rose. 'We're not here to throw a book at you – but did you see who did?'

'No,' she sniffed. 'They were gone by the time I left the U-Bend. But the book came back up. It's over there.'

She pointed near to the row of sinks. Harry hurried over, and picked it up. He began flicking through the pages.

'What sort of book is it?' Ron asked him as he rejoined them, and as Myrtle, still sobbing, returned to her toilet.

'It's a diary.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Mr Black? To what do I owe this pleasure? I've never seen you come to my office of your own accord; only whenever you and Mr Potter are in trouble.'

'Well, Professor Dumbledore, I think we're in trouble again,' Sirius sighed.

Professor Dumbledore surveyed him carefully, before saying, 'I see. Please, have a seat.'

Sirius made his way over to the Headmaster's desk, and sat down.

'What's happened?' Professor Dumbledore asked him.

Sirius plunged into the story straight away; about the strange people in the Entrance Hall, about overhearing Lily's conversation with Marlene, about finding the hole and separating, about how they had travelled in time.

'And now I think they must be stuck wherever they are, Professor Dumbledore,' Sirius finished, 'and I don't know what to do.'

Professor Dumbledore frowned. 'This sounds like a time-hole, something very dangerous. If it's been used a lot, they may be unable to return – that way. I know the Ministry has recently begun developing a Time Gate, though I doubt that it will be much good yet. So, in short, Mr Black, there is not much we can do.'

'So what can we do?' Sirius asked him.

'I'm afraid that all we're useful for is coming up with a good cover story for where Mr Potter, Mr Lupin and Mr Pettigrew have gotten to in the meantime…'


	21. Chapter 21

**I'm updating a day early, because I'm at a sleepover tomorrow :) Thank you for all the reviews/favourites/alerts, as always :)**

Chapter Twenty One – Hermione's Adventure

'So… Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew have all been sent on a month long detention to the mountain just outside of Hogsmeade for reasons you're not allowed to tell us about?' Lily asked Sirius sceptically, later that day.

'Yeah, you summed it up pretty well,' he replied.

'That's ridiculous,' Marlene snorted from the corner. 'You can't even get month long detentions, can you?'

'Marlene's right,' Lily said. 'What's the real reason they're not here?'

'That is the real reason!' Sirius exclaimed.

Lily raised an eyebrow. 'Then how come you haven't gone with them?'

'Because I'm the good one,' Sirius replied, his lip twitching. 'I've _always_ been the good one…'

Marlene snorted again.

'Listen Sirius, we'll end up finding out the real reason anyway, so why don't you just tell us?' Marlene said.

'I _have_ told you,' Sirius assured her. 'Seriously, ask Professor Dumbledore if you have to, he'll tell you the same thing.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Congratulations on escaping the Hospital Wing, Aun – um, Hermione!' exclaimed James and Fred as the portrait hole swung open, revealing Harry, Ron, Albus, Rose, Hugo and a fur- and whisker-less Hermione.

'Thank you,' she said, beaming at them as she reminded herself that these were her future nephews, weird as that sounded in her head.

'Half the school thought you were petrified,' Dominique added. 'You've missed quite a bit since then, though I'm sure Harry and Ron have told you about Teddy, and the boy who _looked_ like Sirius Black.'

'Yes, they've told me everything,' Hermione replied.

'Yeah, and we have something new to tell you as well,' Harry muttered. 'Come on, let's go somewhere in the common room that isn't so crowded…'

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus and Rose made their way to the far corner of the common room. As soon as they were there, Harry extracted from his school bag the empty diary they had found in the bathroom the other day, and told her about how they had found it, and what Ron had later said about T. M. Riddle receiving an award for special services to the school/

'Why are you showing her that?' Ron asked Harry. 'There's nothing in there, is there?'

'Maybe, but look at the date, D – Ron,' Rose cut in.

'1943,' Harry said, showing it to Hermione. 'Fifty years ago.'

Comprehension dawned on Hermione's face. 'This is brilliant! There might be something there, but hidden!'

She took out her wand, tapped the book three times and said, 'Aparecium!'

Nothing happened. Undaunted, Hermione retrieved from her bag an eraser.

'It's a revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley,' she said in answer to Harry's questioning look.

She rubbed hard on 'January 1st', but nothing happened. Hermione put the revealer away again, highly disappointed. They all were, except Ron.

'I told you, there's nothing in there,' he said. 'It's just an old diary, and of no use to anybody.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hermione, it soon transpired, was determined to find out more about why Riddle got his award for special services to the school. Despite Ron's conclusion that he'd either been the most perfect student ever or murdered Myrtle, Hermione felt that neither of these was very plausible. Harry agreed with Hermione, though he spent most of his time simply flicking through the diary, as though hoping that would give him an answer.

When the library gave her no results, she realised that there was one, almost definite way of finding out the truth, not only about why Riddle received his award, but also about who was behind the Chamber of Secrets opening last time. She knew that the time-hole was dangerous and unstable, but if she went through it once, and if it was just her, then it should be okay.

Therefore, one lunchtime in early February, Hermione left Harry and Ron playing Wizard Chess in the common room and made her way down to the Hufflepuff corridor, and the tapestry which hid the time-hole. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then went through. If it meant she could help put a stop to the attacks and save all the Muggle-borns, then she would risk this.

She was soon thrown out of the time-hole, landing on her back. Scrambling to her feet, she didn't immediately register that she wasn't alone in the corridor. She wheeled round and let out a small gasp.

'Wow!' said a boy who looked a lot like Harry excitedly. 'She looks just like that Hermione Weasley from the other day!'

'Actually, I think this is Hermione Weasley when she was Hermione Granger,' said an older man, a look of worry on his face.

Beside these two was another man dressed in bottle-green robes, and two boys who seemed to be the same age as the Harry look-a-like.

'I – I don't think I've come to the right time,' she said finally.

'Maybe not,' the first man nodded. 'You've come into the future by quite a few of years.'

'So have we, so don't worry. I'm James Potter, and these are two of my best friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, by the way, and this is 2018!'

'2018…' she said faintly. 'Oh, that's when Rose and Hugo come from!'

The first man looked up. 'Rose and Hugo? When do you come from? We're trying to get them back, you see, and it would be helpful if we knew the year instead of searching back quite a few years.'

'I come from February 1993,' she replied. 'When the Chamber of Secrets was opened.'

'Thank you very much, Miss Granger,' said the man in bottle-green robes. 'And now, I suggest you get back to your own time. Time travel is very dangerous, you know.'


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you for all the reviews/favourites/alerts :) And, since I won't be updating again until next Friday, Happy Christmas! :)**

Chapter Twenty Two – Valentine's Day

Hermione nodded, and returned through the time-hole. She took their advice, and though she ended up in quite a few eras, she didn't stay in any of them until, at last, she made it back to her own time. She was sorely disappointed that she hadn't been able to find out more about the attacks, but she knew something that might be of some use to the time travellers; they were trying to find a way to get them back… or forward.

'Where have you been?' Ron asked Hermione as she entered the Common Room.

'I,' Hermione hesitated. 'I went through the time-hole.'

'Why on earth did you do that?' Ron added. 'That's supposed to be dangerous, isn't it Harry?'

'Yeah,' Harry said, looking thoughtfully at Hermione. He lowered his voice as he said, 'Was it to find out who was behind the attacks last time?'

'Well, that was the idea,' she admitted. 'But I ended up in the future instead. I know it was a bit of a stupid idea, but I really wanted to find out…'

'Don't worry about it Hermione,' said Harry. 'So, did you go to the right time?'

Hermione shook her head. 'No, I ended up in 2018 and… Harry, your dad was there, and -'

'Really? You mean he's alive in the future?' Harry asked, standing up so quickly he upended the chessboard. 'How? Was my mum there too?'

Hermione shook her head again. 'No, he and some of his friends had been time travelling too. They were stuck there because there were too many of them. I'm sorry. But I did find out that they're doing everything they can in the future to get the kids back, so that's something, I suppose. Where are Rose and Albus, and all of the others?'

'Probably still in the Great Hall eating lunch,' Ron replied as Harry sat back down again.

The first people she found in there was James, Fred, Dominique and Lucy. She told them the news, before asking them to tell the others as soon as they saw them.

'Did they mention how close they were to getting us back?' Lucy asked her when she told them.

'No, I'm sorry,' she replied. 'But now they know what year you're all stuck in, they won't have to search through every single year to find you.'

'That's one good thing,' James sighed. 'And there I was thinking that today was going to be a bad day because we don't have Potions…'

'Why would that be a bad day?' Lucy said.

'Because I love taunting Snape,' he explained, his eyes misting over. 'I know he's a good guy in the end, but he's still horrible to Dad all the time, and I love asking him if he enjoys staring into my brother's eyes, or if he's actually quite mad that in the future his name will be used for a descendant of James Potter…'

'James!' said Hermione. 'You shouldn't do that! I hope you don't say any of this while there are other people in the room!'

'Of course not!' James looked horrified at the idea. 'I would never do that! No, Fred and I are always the last to leave the class, we do it then.'

Hermione said goodbye to them all and left then, deciding it would be best not to try and work out how James's mind worked.

Word had reached all of the time travellers of this new development by the time Valentine's Day came around, three days later. And they all got a shock when they entered the Great Hall that morning.

'This is disgusting,' said Teddy when he went in, gazing at the pink flowers covering the tables and the heart shaped confetti falling from the ceiling.

'Lockhart's idea,' Victoire sighed, joining Teddy in looking like she might be sick. 'I like Valentine's Day, but this is overdoing it…'

'I know it's Lockhart's idea; Ron's very fond of repeating what happened on this day when he gets annoyed at Harry, Ginny, or both of them,' said Teddy with a laugh, before he began singing, 'His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad…'

Victoire laughed too as they made their way to the staff table. 'Hey, Teddy, I've got you a present for Valentine's Day. Have you got me anything?'

'Of course I have, but I'm going to give it to you to -'

But before Teddy could finish what he was saying, he had been surrounded by lots of girls, all holding presents and cards out to him.

'Uh… um… thanks,' he said as he took each of the presents and placed them on the staff table, while Victoire looked on with an amused look on her face.

'You're welcome, Teddy,' was the normal reply to this, though some of them went further by adding, 'I love you Teddy!' or 'I hope you stay here as Gamekeeper!'

When they had all gone, Victoire burst out laughing.

'What's so funny?' he asked her, though he was smiling as well.

'Maybe you won't want my present,' she finally said. 'Looks like you've got enough to last a lifetime…'

Teddy forced himself not to laugh as he got started on his breakfast.

Most of the time travellers knew what was coming, but they all refrained from telling Harry until it was too late. The dwarf approached him, held him down, and gave Harry his musical Valentine. He got embarrassed, his bag split open, Malfoy got his hands on the diary and upset Ginny in less than two minutes. But none of them knew, or noticed while it was going on, the terrified look on Ginny's face when her eyes fell on the diary. Harry had it, and she knew it wouldn't take him long to realise how to use it. And then Tom might reveal everything to him. He was bound to be angry that she had written to him in ages, or that she had tried to flush the diary down the toilet. Why hadn't that worked anyway, she thought furiously that day. She had to get it back, at any cost. She didn't really want Tom back, but she didn't have to _write_ in it anymore, just get it away from Harry.

But someone had seen the horrified look on Ginny's face, someone did put two and two together, and someone decided, that night in the Common Room while Fred and George sang their own rendition of Harry's valentine, that something had to be done, even if it meant changing history. Well, they had already changed it so much.

'Harry, do you mind if I look after the diary for a while?'

Harry looked up.

'Why?' he asked them.

Rose smiled. 'Please, trust me. This is important.'

**Once again, I hope you all have a good Christmas :) I think I prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, though I'm not entirely sure why… anyway, there will be either two or three chapters left of this story, unless I've planned that really badly, and then it will be time for a new story! I've already got quite a few ideas ^_^**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello, hello and thank you for all the reviews/favourites/alerts :) I hope you had a good Christmas, and have a Happy New Year ^_^ (This is the penultimate chapter, by the way)**

Chapter Twenty Three – The Terrible Consequences of Time Travel

Harry looked down at the diary in his hands. Rose had asked him to give it to her without offering a reason why, but he had run upstairs to get it all the same. He was about to walk over to her, when he hesitated. Did he really want to hand it over? There was something about the diary that made him want to keep it. He approached Rose.

'Harry, you've got it, that's really – '

'Hang on, Rose,' he said as she stretched her hand towards the diary.

'What is it?' she asked him.

'I think you should tell me _why_ you want it,' he replied, slightly nervously.

Rose sighed. 'I can't. It might give away too much of the future. Please, you have to trust me…'

Harry, holding tightly to the book, said, 'Then I'm sorry, Rose. I want to find out more about this book. When I have, I'll promise I'll give it to you. Is that okay.'

Looking dejected, Rose sighed and nodded. Harry went back up the stairs to his dormitory.

'Maybe this is for the best, Rose,' said Albus, who had been watching the whole thing. 'We can't tamper too much in the past, or it will change the future. Why did you want the diary anyway?'

'Because I realised today that the person who tried to get rid of it, in the bathroom where we found it, was Ginny,' she replied quietly. 'She looked so terrified today when she saw the diary fall out of Harry's bag… she knows what we've guessed: that the diary is linked to the Chamber of Secrets, and I suppose Ginny has been involved in it this time, otherwise she wouldn't have looked so scared. She's worried that Harry will figure out how to use the diary, and that it will reveal whatever she's been doing.'

Albus looked at Rose, wide-eyed. 'No… my mum, involved in the opening of the Chamber of Secrets? That can't be right, can it? I know Mum and Dad never want to talk about it, but Dad never likes talking about anything that involves all the dark stuff he's ever had to face.'

'It's probably because Ginny was involved,' Rose sighed. 'And I think she's going to steal the diary back, or do something stupid… that's why I wanted the diary. She knows Harry's got it, so if I took it without her knowing, she wouldn't be able to get it back…'

'I see,' said Albus. 'Rose, maybe I should talk to Mum first. I'm sure she'd tell James, Lily and me if anything was happening. We're her children.'

Rose smiled. 'But you're not her children here, are you?'

Albus stood up. He looked over at Ginny, who was sitting alone in an armchair by the fire, deadly pale and apparently lost in thought as she watched the flickering flames. Then he found James, who was sitting with Fred, George and the other Fred, and hurried over to them.

'Oh, hi Al,' James said when he joined them. 'Come to have a bit of a sing-along as well? I wish I had been there to see Dad get that Valentine… I still miss everything, even when I'm in the right time.'

'James, I need to talk to you – and Lily – about something,' Albus said, hoping he didn't sound panicked. 'In private.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew still haven't come back,' said Lily one morning, a week after Sirius had told them where the other three had supposedly gone.

'Who cares about Peter anyway?' Marlene asked her.

'Marlene! That's not very nice,' Lily said reproachfully. 'I know he's not very bright, but I doubt he's the one at fault for this trouble. Potter and Black have been up to something, and now they've gone missing. I just wish I knew how, or why…'

She and Marlene were sat in the library, finishing off some History of Magic homework. Lily returned to the thick textbook in front of her. Marlene, however, put her quill down.

'Come to think of it, why do you care about any of them?' Marlene added, a grin spreading across her face. 'Could it be that you've finally fallen for James, as he has been so confident about for the past few months?'

'Don't be silly, Marlene,' Lily replied. 'There's no way I could ever love Potter…'

'I can just imagine the children,' Marlene continued with a fake sigh, a mischievous glint in her eye. 'They would have his dark, messy hair, and your bright green eyes, and they would be called – '

'Harry!' Lily exclaimed, and then clapped her hand to her mouth. She looked horrified.

'Harry?' Marlene repeated. 'Harry Potter… oh wow, that fits! I was going to say James Junior, but you've obviously put some thought into it… which means that you _do_ have feelings for him! Otherwise you wouldn't have come up with "Harry" so quickly…'

But Lily wasn't really listening. Marlene's description had caused the image of a real person to pop up in Lily's mind's eye – a man who looked a lot like James, except for his eyes, which were like Lily's. She couldn't really remember where or when she had seen him, just that his name was Harry. With a funny jolt of her stomach, she remembered that this Harry really was Harry Potter, and that he was her son… her and James Potter's son…

But why could she so clearly picture him? It was as though something was trying to break through an invisible wall in her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to remember this Harry.

'Lily?' said Marlene uncertainly. 'Lily, are you all right?'

'I've got a bit of a headache,' Lily said. 'I think I'll go to the hospital wing…'

And without another word, she left the library. But she wasn't going to the hospital wing.

Something other than Harry Potter was coming back to her. She could see that boy, Teddy, and lots of other people surrounding her, and the light of a spell. She shook her head, trying to remember, and that's when she realised that it must have been a Memory Charm that was causing her all this uncertainty. She remembered coming round, when Teddy was supporting her, in the Hufflepuff corridor, but her thoughts were too muddled to really register anything then.

She went down the corridor, but nothing else came to her. She froze. Sirius Black was standing next to a tapestry, watching her.

'You said something happened to you down the Hufflepuff corridor,' Sirius said. 'A while back. So we went and looked. And we found the time-hole. We got separated, and I only made it back because I was by myself. There are three of them, if they all came back something bad would happen to them.'

'The time-hole?' said Lily. 'I don't really remember that… so they're stuck somewhere in the past or future?'

Sirius nodded.

Lily took a small step back. So this image of this man, this Harry Potter… he was real. Or, he would be real. They'd erased her memories so that nothing changed, but she could still remember him. Her son. With James Potter. She groaned internally.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, Ginny was in the library at lunch, her hands clutched tightly around the diary. She had managed to steal it back. It had been a nervous few minutes for her, waiting for Harry's dormitory to empty, then running up and finding it before anyone returned, but she had managed it. She stared down at the black, innocent looking book. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice, until the last moment, that James, Albus and Lily had all approached her.

She looked up, and went bright red at seeing all three of her future children gathered around her.

'H-hello,' she said. 'How are you all?'

'Why do you sound so formal?' James asked her, before lowering his voice and adding, _'Mum.'_

She went even redder and mumbled, 'You're older than me…'

'But you're still our mum,' James said quietly.

'And we're worried about you,' Lily added.

'Why?' said Ginny in surprise.

'Because of that diary in your hands,' said Albus.

Ginny's eyes widened, and her lower lip started trembling. She looked like she was about to cry.

'Please, please don't tell anyone,' she muttered. 'I don't want to be expelled…'

'So it is you behind the attacks?' said James. 'I didn't believe it when Al told me.'

Lily shook her head. 'Neither did I.'

Ginny stood up, the diary held even more tightly in her hands. She had started to cry.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'You don't know how powerful Tom is, was. I couldn't do anything about it, I – I – there are sometimes long passages of time that I can't remember anything of.'

'Then let us help you,' said Albus. 'We're your children; we'd do anything to help you.'

But Ginny shook her head. 'No, I don't want any help, and I don't want you to tell Professor Dumbledore!'

She ran out of the library. James and Albus exchanged a quick glance, before all three of them went tearing after Ginny.

They ran after her along corridors and down staircases, all the way to the ground floor. Albus was the fastest, and he had nearly caught up with Ginny when she sprinted down the Hufflepuff corridor, ripped open the tapestry, and dashed through the time-hole.

Albus was about to go through as well, but when he tried to enter the hole, he found that he couldn't. He pushed his hand against it, but it was no long shimmering. It had frozen. The time-hole had closed. And Ginny was trapped inside it.


	24. Chapter 24

**So, here it is, the final chapter :( I'm getting really over emotional about this but, since it was my first story… anyway, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, alerted and read this story, I hope you enjoyed it :)**

Chapter Twenty Four – Time to Disappear

'Mr Potter, Mr Lupin, Mr Pettigrew, I have some good news,' Felix Howell poked his head around the door of the room the three Marauders had been staying in for the last two months. 'The Time Gate is ready. We're going to send you back first, and then we're going to get the others from February 1993.'

'Oh, so we're the guinea pigs?' James asked him, making his way over to the door.

'In a way,' Felix Howell replied. 'You don't mind, do you?'

'No, not at all,' said Remus, also going over. 'Are we going now?'

Felix Howell nodded. 'As soon as you're ready.'

'We're ready now, I think,' said James, looking over at Remus and Peter. 'Are you both ready?'

They both nodded. Felix Howell smiled, and left the room. The three Marauders followed him out of the door, and along a few deserted corridors. It was term time again, but it was very early in the morning, so most students were still in bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

In February 1993, the corridor leading to the time-hole was in complete chaos. The Hufflepuffs making their way back to their common room to collect their bags after lunch were all looking extremely confused as Professor Dumbledore came striding along the corridor, looking very serious, and accompanied by all the Weasleys, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and all of the transfer students.

'What's going on?' many of the Hufflepuffs were saying, but they were often answered by Percy saying, 'Nothing! Just go to your lessons. Come on, I'm a Prefect, you have to believe me, nothing's going on…'

Professor Dumbledore opened the tapestry, behind which stood James and Lily. Albus had gone to fetch Dumbledore when they realised Ginny was trapped, and he had managed to tell everyone else along the way. They all grouped around the time-hole, their faces drained of all colour. Harry poked the surface of the time-hole, but it remained as solid as ever.

'Will it ever… unfreeze?' he asked Dumbledore, unsure what to call it.

'I'm not sure,' Dumbledore replied, looking grave. 'If it ever did, it wouldn't be for a long time…'

'So she… she could die in there?' Albus added. He had gone very white.

Dumbledore nodded.

'But then that would mean,' James's eyes had suddenly gone wide. 'That Dad can't marry her, and they can't have us…'

Dumbledore nodded again. 'How did this happen?'

James, Albus and Lily exchanged nervous glances. Then, all of a sudden, they heard Ginny wail from inside the time-hole.

'It's – it's all m – my fault, P – Professor Dumbledore,' they heard her sob. 'I was r – running away because… because… because they found out that I've b – been opening the – the Chamber of Secrets! And now I'm trapped, and they're going to d – die because of m – me!'

'Please, Miss Weasley, calm down,' Dumbledore said quietly. 'For all we know, this might only be temporary.'

'Professor Dumbledore,' Teddy piped up suddenly. 'It wasn't Ginny's fault about the Chamber of Secrets, not really. She had a diary, a diary that used to belong to Tom Riddle, and it possessed her…'

Dumbledore nodded. 'I didn't expect a first year to be capable of doing all of this, but thank you anyway, Mr Lupin. Miss Weasley, do you have the diary with you?'

'Yes,' she replied. 'I had just taken it back from Harry when… when they came…'

'How will we know if Ginny can ever get out?' Ron asked Dumbledore.

He sighed heavily. 'We'll know if she can't, because James, Albus and Lily Potter will cease to exist. That may be a sudden thing or very drawn out, I do not yet know.'

Lily started shaking, and she gripped Teddy's arm for support.

'I don't want to not exist!' she exclaimed.

'Don't worry Lily,' said Teddy. 'There'll be a way out of this…'

'We're going to stop existing, and you're going to forget about us, and Dad will marry someone else and have other children called James, Albus and Lily,' she continued, looking close to tears at this point.

She let go of Teddy and walked over to her brothers, before linking arms with them. They both looked very white too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Time Gate, which looked like a silver, metallic arch, was waiting beside the time-hole. Professor Haryn and Felix Howell stood next to it, and two ministry wizards were tapping it with their wands and muttering a few spells.

'Nothing to worry about, nothing at all!' Felix Howell assured James, Remus and Peter when they opened the tapestry. 'They're just setting the date! And then you'll be off!'

'Mr Howell, it's ready,' said one of the ministry wizards, and they stepped back.

The Time Gate made a whirring sound, and a water-like substance appeared in the gap of the arch.

'All you have to do is step through, and you'll come out in this place, in your time,' said Felix Howell. 'Have a safe journey.'

'Thank you,' all three of them said.

Peter went through first. Then Remus walked through the gap in the arch. As James approached the water-like substance, he turned to face Haryn and Howell, an odd smile on his face.

'The reason you wouldn't let me see the me in the present…' he began, and his eyes seemed to be shining, 'is because there is no me here. I die before now, don't I?'

Haryn nodded. 'You and Lily die to save your son from Voldemort, in 1981. I'm sorry.'

James shook his head. 'Don't worry. I'll ask Remus to wipe this memory when I get back. Anyway… thanks for everything…'

He stepped through the arch, and was gone.

'Well, that's them all sorted,' said Howell happily. 'Now to get the children. Haryn, you better go through, they won't know me…'

'Okay,' said Haryn, as the two ministry wizards reset the date.

None of them paid the slightest bit of attention to the time-hole, which was frozen there as well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Oh, I'm starting to feel faint, what's happening to me?' Lily was in hysterics. She clutched at her hair, and bit her lip as though to stop herself screaming. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the ground, unconscious James and Albus bent down to pick her up, but it was clear that she really was starting to fade.

'Youngest first?' said Dumbledore. 'That is odd, I'd have thought it would have been the oldest to fade first… but this simply proves that there is now way out for Miss Weasley…'

Everyone gathered had gone a ghostly white, though none of them had gone whiter Lily, who was starting to disappear at the edges.

'Ow!' Albus clutched his stomach, his eyes screwed in pain. He leant against the wall, and started breathing heavily. 'My body feels like it's on fire…'

'I'm so sorry!' they heard Ginny gasp. 'I've… I've killed my own children…'

Just then, a silver arch appeared in the crowded corridor, and a familiar face appeared.

'Professor Haryn!' Rose exclaimed. 'How are you here?'

'The Time Gate,' he said, beaming round at all them. 'Here to take you all home! Er… what's wrong?'

His smile faltered at the sight of all their serious faces. Then he noticed Lily, unconscious on the floor, and Albus, who was still leaning against the wall.

'Take them back, Professor Haryn,' said Dumbledore. 'But you won't have the three Potters for much longer. Ginny Weasley is trapped in the time-hole, and she can never get out. As a result, she will never have children with Harry Potter, so these three will soon cease to exist.'

'No!' he said.

'Please take us back,' said James. 'We might be able to do something…'

Professor Haryn nodded, and the group made their way to the Time Gate. Teddy picked up Lily, whose feet had already vanished, while Rose and James supported Albus. They looked back at Harry and the others.

'I don't think there's time for a proper goodbye,' Rose said sadly. 'But we'll see you in the present. Please, don't forget James, Albus and Lily!'

'Goodbye, everyone,' the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione said, as the group stepped through the Time Gate.

Immediately, they emerged into their own time. They should have been relieved, but they couldn't. Lily had almost vanished entirely, and Albus was starting to fall unconscious. James, though now experiencing terrible stomach pains, went up to a horrified looking Howell and said, 'Change the date! Change the date to June 30th, 2018!'

Howell nodded, and the ministry wizards changed the date once more. Before anyone could say a word, James ran through the arch, all too aware that he was starting to grow faint, and that he was disappearing around the edges…

He left the arch, and found himself, as he had hoped, standing behind him and the others, right before they went through the time-hole.

'I say we go through and find out,' the James there was saying and, as Fred nodded, the James who felt about to faint cried: 'No!' and they all turned around.

'What?' said Fred.

'Don't go through the time-hole!' James gasped, sinking to his knees. 'Or you'll end up like this…'

There was a moments' pause, before the other James nodded and said, 'All right. We won't.'

Suddenly, James began to feel better. He was starting to become fully aware of his surroundings again as he was pulled back through the Time Gate. He closed his eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief.

When he opened them again, he was in the Entrance Hall, in his school uniform, and carrying a school bag. They had never gone back in time, it was September 2018, and the memories of time travelling were starting to fade… even now, he thought they were merely a dream.

'Come on James!' cried Fred, running past him. 'We're late for Charms! Professor Furners is going to kill us…'

James nodded, laughed, and hurried after Fred.

**That's it :) There will be a new story next Friday! Just one thing though: does anyone want me to do a sequel? One that actually features Scorpius Malfoy, since he only gets mentioned in this one :D Let me know if you do, and again, thank you for reading my story!**


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